blaze-2014

lazeSMILYO EDUCATIONAL CHARITABLE SOCIETY ®The Uprising!INSIDEtheISSUECOVERMission AdmissionEducation in odd sectors#AdmissionCrazeWithSmilyoBlazeSTORYThe betterAcademic SystemINTERVIEWSSUMRIT SHAHIYoungest Author

SMILYOTANIA AGARWALSupervisorCREDITSPANKAJ JAINPresidentTUSHAR AGARWALVice - PresidentDIVYA GROVEREditorHARSH S. KULSHRESTHASHREYA KATHURIACo - EditorsMOHIT AGARWALNEHA YADAVGARIMA PARASHARJr. EditorsCHARMIE SHAHDesignerSHRADDHA KANADEVideo Editor2TUSHAR SINGHALTechinal Helper

SMILYOIn thisISSUE...From the Editor’s DeskTeam SmilyoOur Glistering PastPresent and BeyondMission AdmissionTech savyIPL- Indian Paisa LeagueAnnual ModeThe Semester System DecodedFYUPThe Engineering Exam FeverCourse v/s CollegePrivate Universities v/s Government UniversitiesManagement QuotaWhy join the army? Views of Lt General TS GillInterview of Dr P.C Jain, Principal of SRCCReport of National Cadet CorpsEducation in Odd SectorsExceptional MindsFashion ForecastsIs Indian Cinema Beyond The 100cr Club?To Read or to Watch- the “reel”ty of Novels getting rolledVegit is LegitSleeping GiantInterview of Sumrit Shahi, Novelist and Script WriterSpecial Thanks ToYou can help make a difference: DONATE!Testimonials457111316192125283135404447485053586165687276798485863

SMILYOFrom theEDITOR’SDESKWelcome to the annual issueof ‘Blaze-The Uprising’,the online magazine of SmilyoEducational Charitable Society.“Give a man a fish and you feed himfor a day. Teach a man to fish and youfeed him for lifetime.”We at Smilyo believe in the powerof Education and as our motto says‘Serving education with a Smile’, it isour whole-hearted endeavor to furnishas much as we can on Education. OurEmagazine is also a sum of our sightof providing “Paperless Education”.It hardly seems possible that it was onlylast year when we launched our firstE-magazine. After that glorious year, Iam delighted to introduce our secondedition. The second issue of ‘Blaze-The Uprising’ has been a mammothtask. The measure set by last year’spublication was quite high, but thisyear we have tested and incorporatedbest of our efforts to create a more comprehensiveand motivational edition.As we all know a magazine mirrors anorganization-its aims and objectives.It also highlights events, activities4and accomplishments. In this edition,we have attempted to get this year’sexcitement and activities along withour idea of education. There is somethingfor everyone here. The varietyand creativity of the articles in thesepages represent the interest of all.A publication of this nature is a resultof intense personal effort. On behalfof the magazine team, I wouldlike to thank everyone who contributedto this magazine. In particular,I wish to give many thanks toPankaj Jain and Tushar Aggarwalfor supervision, Tania Aggarwalfor guidance, Tarun Gehlautand the designing team for creatingthis e-magazine possible, and the eternalenergy, loyalty and dedication ofthe Editorial Board who have turnedthe midnight oil to produce this issue.I sincerely hope that this year’s editionmakes an interesting and beneficialread for all.-Divya Grover

SMILYOTEAMSMILYO“The biggest gift one can give to the society is to educateits children.”Right from childhood we were taught by our parents to share our belongingswith others who do not have them. Sharing doesn’t lessenour happiness, but magnifies it ten times. While we have all followedthis principle very diligently, our team puts all endeavors to apply thesame preaching on education as well. A lot of young children in our countryare deprived of basic education. We are privileged enough to study ingood schools and premier colleges. Hence it is our moral responsibility toshare the knowledge that we have acquired with our fellow countrymen.With this noble thought in mind Smilyo has grown phenomenally over the past years,growing from 2 members to 50000+ members. It has now been registered under TheIndian Societies Act by the name of Smilyo Educational Charitable Society Regd.At Smilyo we strongly believe in teamwork and equality. Hence, the functioningof the website is not restricted to the founding members only. Smilyois the collective effort of a large network of students across colleges whobrainstorm to bring about the best quality notes for the users of the website.Anybody who has a genuine interest in spreading education across millionsis welcome to join the team. Smilyo accepts volunteers from its userswho support the cause of education. It also provides several shortterm internships that serve to enhance the academic profile of students.The brilliant output that Smilyo puts forth is entirely because of the hard workingteam that makes sure everything is right on schedule. Team Smilyo basicallyconsists of the Editorial, Human Resource Management, Social Media, Edu-Network,External Relations and Technical teams. Heading high with a whooping5

SMILYO8k+ followers on Facebook and having HBO India as a follower on Pinterest,the social media department ensures an elegant online presence for Smilyo. Withits newly improved article, review and poem section, and the excellent qualityof our writeups, the editorial department charms viewership around the sphere.Well, as it is said, your online demand boosts if you have an even better offlinepresence. The External Relations Department does exactly the same. Aimed atbringing sponsorship and organizing amusing events, this department is one ofthe most sought for in Smilyo. Not only that, students keenly look forward toSmilyo when it comes to a serious issue of serving education, largely becauseSmilyo has nowbeen registeredunder The IndianSocietiesAct by the nameof Smilyo EducationalCharitableSocietyRegd.of the efforts of Logistics Team. Be it uploading latestnotes, or the immensely demanded e-books, thisteam does it all! Our Edu network team aims to bringin all the important information/happenings of variouscolleges of DU and several other universities on ourwebsite’s portal. That brilliance in the teams is a majorcontribution of the HR department, which makes surethat the creativity of the members is utilized to the mostproficient extent. The harmony in the Smilyo familyand our team-spirit is the sole effort of this department.Last but not the least; we have the most central teamsof all- The Technical Team! This team makes Smilyowhat it really is. Smilyo began with the endeavor toprovide ‘Paperless Education’ to all and our “digitalization” is managed and preservedby the sole soul of Smilyo. The most recent efforts of this extra-ordinaryteam includes the launch of Windows and Android apps for Smilyo certified bythe giants themselves, reinventing the layout of our official site, and ensuringthat everything is smooth to work on when it comes to the online experience.It is our vision to envision a world where no child is deprived of education,where good quality education is not a privilege any more. And withsuch an awesome team working whole heartedly to achieve our mission, weare sure that the graph of ‘Serving Education’ cheerfully is all set to go up!6

SMILYOOurGLISTERINGPast...Going by its motive of serving the society selflessly, Smilyo organizedmany successful events since last year that not only took Smilyo to newheights but also brought smiles to many faces. Adding to its glory, Smilyothis year took a step ahead in the field of technology and reached new milestones.Here is a story of all the achievements and events undertaken by Smilyo since last year:EVENTS1. CLEAN-O-CARNIVAL:In association with SWECCHA-WE FOR CHANGE FOUNDATION,Smilyo organized a cleanliness drive on 6th and 7th April’13 on a patchof 3.5 km of Khirki village, Malviya Nagar. The initiative got tremendoussupport from the residents of the locality and was a huge success.2. UMEED – IIT Delhi WorkshopSmilyo reached another milestone with this event as it was the first independentlyorganized event by Smilyo at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. The workshopwas organized with the motive of creating health awareness among the 40 underprivilegedchildren of the slums who came with a notably high level of energyand zest to learn. We organized enthralling events like showing animated videos,playing puzzles and the T-shirt painting competition to ascertain that this workshopbecomes not just a learning experience, but also a memorable one for the kids.3. VISIT TO PRERNA WELFARE SHELTER FORCHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONSWe believe that the best way to multiply your happiness is to share it with others.On 25th December 2013, members of team Smilyo visited the orphanage for7

SMILYOChristmas celebrations with the children residing at that place. It was a day full offun and frolic activities like drawing competition, gaming sessions like pass onthe parcel and jiving, a play about Christ’s birth, and cake cutting. The kids werevery sportive throughout the celebrations and were given special gifts in the end.4. DONATION DRIVESIn 2014, Smilyo organized many donation drives. One of them was conductedin Shri Ram College of Commerce in association with the Fine Arts Societyof the college and the other in Shaheed Bhagat Singh College at theirNGO carnival in association with Uddayam’14. Students were invited to donatebooks, old clothes, notes and money for the help of the needy and poor.8

SMILYOAchievementsFeb’14On 26th Feb’14, Smilyo completed 3 years of serving Education with a smile.The foundation say was declared at India gate followed by acake cutting. Withthe support of the ever-enthusiastic team, Smilyo is all set to reach new heightsof accomplishments in the future.50K+ registered users and 8K+ likes on Facebook:These ever-increasing numbers just show how Smilyo’s popularity has beengrowing like a wildfire. Gratuitous to say, Smilyo is serving education with allits heart and soul which has made it so popular not only inConstantlyIndia but at global level. It was indeed a proud momentfor us when HBO India followed Smilyo on Pinterest. In gainingaddition to above, Smilyo’s website has been ranked 12th momentumamong the websites in Delhi by one of the world’s mostreputed website ranking giant Alexa internet, Inc. (a subsidiary of amazon.com)Launched its own adroid and windows applications:Keeping pace with the evolving technologies, Smilyo in 2013 launched its ownandroid apps available on the Google play store for free. While Smilyo teamconnect app is a chat-based app made exclusively for the team members, SmilyoTechnologicalAdvancementbeta is for public which makes all the articles and poems,and the college portals available on the Smilyo websitedirectly accessible to any android user. In 2014, Smilyohas entered the windows store as well and is expected to soon launch its app forthe iOS users also.9

SMILYOMore efficient college portals and the newly launched review section:DepartmentsProgressingThe already existing college portals are now gettinga lot more efficient with the Edu-networkteam aiming to bring you all the important informationof various colleges of DU and several other universities at oneplace. In addition to above, the editorial department has taken a step aheadand launched its review section which will cover not only the reviews ofbooks and movies but also food outlets and latest technological devices10

SMILYOPRESENTandBEYOND!Going with the motto of ‘Serving education with a smile’, Smilyo hasalways deemed to promote edification selflessly. 2013 for Smilyo wasan immensely boosting year. Becoming a registered society under TheSociety Registration Act 1860 has added glitter to the already sparkling beauty.Our journey has always gone forward with a crust of noble events lined up.A notable one among those was the IIT Delhi workshop organized by Smilyo.Striving towards the promotion of creativity, the workshop was a stepahead with it. T-shirt painting tasks led by Smilyons cheered young minds topaint their imagination. The already resilient squad became even more firm toserve on seeing the bright enthusiasm of kids taking part in it. And the visitto the Prerna Sadan was hugely motivating. We, perhaps, had our best ChristmasCarnival ever in our lifetime with the wonderful people in that shelterhome. Seeing the benevolence and optimism out there, our fortitude toserve for good got sturdier. This year was occupied with the similar efforts.Smilyo’s Donation Drive attracted many kind hearted ones to offer a helpinghand by donating books, clothes, notes and anything of considerable use.We have constantly targeted at increasing communication between the membersand the users. As a result, Smilyo has now landed itself in the Google Play store andWindows store through its apps. This twelvemonth, the society is all set to carveits presence in the iOS market as well. Moreover, Smilyo’s editorial department asalways is all set to increase interactivity with its users. The introduction of the food,technology, book and movie review is just the topping on the glossy cake. Contests,polls, ratings-all of them just shrink up the gap between the readers and the jotters.An important step towards enhancing user experience was the remarkablechange that the site went through. Today the official website encompassesan attractive UI, a social media experience for the registered users, and adedicated newsfeed. With mesmerizing and gallant efforts stuffed up witha dedicated team, Smilyo is surely going to embark upon a joyous journey.To keep pace with the vast user base, Smilyo is constantly making efforts. We aregradually migrating most of our online interface to the mobile based platforms aswell so that our users can stay updated with on-the-go availability of educational11

SMILYOresources. With such a leap, users will be able to download notes and increase theirinteraction with other Smilyons directly through the mobile based apps. Apartfrom this, we are determined to carry out enlightening periodic surveys basedon social research and development. Moreover, the edu-network will undergoan expansion to increase our reach to a wider audience comprising of students.12

SMILYOMissionADMISSIONAdmission time is the time of the year when lakhs of young high schoolseniors endure nail biting anxiety and there is no escape from it. Yearafter year a fresh set of people find themselves in the same position. The‘thick’ and ‘thin’ envelopes and mails are sent out to the students, letting themknow if they have gained admission into the colleges of their choice or not.For those few days longer forgotten postmen suddenly become all important.Here is a guide for the aspirants which will ensure that you don’t missout on any aspect of admissions.EngineeringAs the joke goes around, Indians first become engineers and then think aboutwhat they want to do in life, making engineering the most sought after specializedcourse after 12th. The entrance test procedure for engineering colleges has beenchanged significantly. Students who are passionate about technology and machinescan become an engineer by cracking one of the engineering entrance examsgiven below. These tests are carried on every year at both National and Stateranks for choosing most skilled and competent candidates for admission into engineeringinstitutes across the country. Prominent engineering colleges in Indiainclude IITs, NITs, and a few more. The most significant and respected EngineeringEntrance Exams in India are AIEEE, BITSAT, IIT JEE and more. However,these entrance exams have been replaced by the Centralized Admission Process(CAD). Under this process, candidates selected from JEE (Main) compete in giveJEE (Advanced) for admission in IITs. You may ask yourself why you’re evenbeing put through this agony -- aren’t your percentages and extracurricular activitiesenough? Well, a standardized test provides extra information, and that allthe individual voices combine to take accurate pictures of their applicants. Also,high school courses are not always equivalent from region to region, so a standardmeasure that is not specific to one particular school can be more meaningful.13

SMILYODelhi UniversityThough admission to DU for courses andcolleges is based on standard XII score only.Crucial days ahead for Delhi Universityadmission seekers‘Mission admission’ to all newly-introducedfour-year undergraduate fouryear courses at Delhi University is setto begin and here is what students canundergraduate expect from the timethey buy the application form till the time they land programme are a seat.STEP 1: First of all, the sale of common application forms (both onlineand offline), also known as the Optical Mark Reader (OMR)forms will begin from 2nd June.This is the only way that a student can apply to any of DU’s undergraduatecolleges, except for St. Stephen’s Collegeand Jesus and Mary College, which accompanytheir own admission procedure.Students applying under the extra-curricularactivities and sports quota will have toapply individually to colleges in addition tosubmitting the OMR form. Even SC/ST andphysically challenged candidates will have tofill up the common OMR forms as the admissionprocess for them will be carried out byindividual colleges now onwards. Earlier, the university oversawadmission for SC/ST and physically challenged candidates.Do not apply twice: The University has cautioned that students should, underno circumstances, opt for double admission. A student who has filled theapplication form online should not apply again in the hard copy format as itwill amount to double admission and may lead to automatic cancellation.Modifications made: A big change made last year was that choice of collegecannot be mentioned and students put up just list their subject preference.There are no limits to the number of courses that a student can apply for. Yourname will appear in every college that has the subject you opted for, if youmeet the cutoff. Students making to the cutoff at any of the colleges will beable to get themselves admitted within three days. In that respect is no firstcome, first served basis, and then there is no demand to rush. Only once an14Colleges which follow theirown admission procedureusually have deadlines (tofill application form) differentfrom that of other collegeslaid by DU. So keepa check on the respectivewebsites of such colleges.

SMILYOadmission under the first list is executed, and the second list is published,there is no prospect of taking admissions if your figure has already lookedin the first list and you escaped out. Colleges usually never tweak this rule.STEP 2: Wait for the cutoffs. As soon as cutoffs are out, mark the datesgiven by the college of your choice (given on their website) for admissions.STEP 3: Once you hit the college check the notice boards of the college, itmight mention where you should proceed as per your course for escalationto the succeeding step of admission. Get the college admission form and fillthe form carefully. Overwriting, Cutting or use of fluid is to be avoided on theAdmission Forms. If any such thing happens, the candidate will have to buya new form and start afresh. And so in that respect shall be verification ofthe documents, after which you will need to wait to receive your enrollmentnumber and the last step of the admission process is fee submission. Submitthe fee, collect the fee receipt and you are now a student of your college.Checklist for Admission SeekersHere is a list of things that you must carry on the day of admission to make theprocess smoother and hindrance-free:1. All the required documents (as delineated by the college on their website)and extra photocopies along with the originals is a must.2. At least 7-8 copies of your recent photograph.3. Carry your own Blue colored pens, fevicol/fevistick, and stapler. Yowould not want to run around asking people for fevicol that day.4. Anti-ragging affidavit. This late addition to the list of required documentsis commonly dropped out by the students who have to endure afterwards. So goprepared with your affidavit.5. Lastly, carry some handy snacks like a packet of chips or biscuits and abottle of water. Admission procedures are usually long, cumbersome and tiring.So go prepared to beat the heat.So here is wishing you all Good luck with your applications, good luck withyour decision, and most of all, good luck engaging the fantastic college opportunitiesthat are awaiting you.-Nitigya Anand15

SMILYOTECHSavyTechnology has changed the way we live our life. And launching of“really cool” gadgets makes our life not only comfortable but muchmore exciting. What if, we get a chance to create our gadgets? Whatif we can create our own Smartphone? Creating something useful, beautifuland complete gives us an immense pleasure and satisfaction in an aestheticsense. The very idea of creating a Smartphone for ourselves is really exciting.Project ARA:Google is working on its new projectwhich is based on this idea. Thisnew technological concept of Googleis called ‘Project Ara’. Project Arais the codename of the initiative byGoogle. Project Ara aims at hardwareupgradation. Today we can upgradeWhatsapp, Facebook and other appsto a better version without changingour handset. But, if we wish to havea better camera quality we need to buy a whole new handset. Project Ara willbe aimed at modular Smart phones in which a user can hot-swap the modulesi.e. easily change the module without switching the phone off. For instance,when Samsung announced the GalaxyS5 recently, its hot improvements includeda better camera, a fingerprint scanner and a heart-rate monitor. In a worldof modular phones, you might be able to pick any or all of those features andadd them to the phone you already have. You’d even be able to pick amongmultiple cameras, or choose quirky features not meant for the masses. Sometimes,there are people who usually run out of battery. They don’t use theirphone much for multimedia purposes or clicking pictures. Then, these userscan remove camera and multimedia from their phone and can use that space16

SMILYOfor extra battery. Project Ara gives user a choice to create your own Smartphoneaccording to their wish and convenience and modify it whenever theywant without spending much and without changing the whole handset. Secondlyand most importantly, it will contribute in reducing the problem of e-waste.3-D Printing:While thinking of Ara, there is anothertechnological concept of interest.Something that provides the satisfactionand pleasure of creating hardware-3D PRINTING. The technologyallows user to create an exact 3Dreplica of things such as bicycle, doorhandle, lamp, motor parts, furniture etcfrom their digital design. 3D Printer isvery similar to commonly used Ink-jetprinter. The only difference is that 3D printer uses special plastic threads, calledABS filament instead of a cartridge full of ink. Now 3D printers have madeit possible to print the working replicas of expensive scientific equipments. Itwould be much cheaper and easier to print these equipments as compared toconventional methods. A 3D printer for personal use will cost around $2000i.e. approximately 1.06 lakh but gadgets gets cheaper as the time passes. Anaverage phone case will take approximately an hour to print. Users just haveto push in programmes, give it command and everything will happen automatically.Best part of 3D printing is it also allows user to modify the productby modifying their design. Product will take shape in front of your eyes.LG’s home chat system!LG has come up with one of the mostintriguing innovations with its ‘LGHomeChat’. LG HomeChat will allowusers to issue commands and receivestatus updates from their smart appliancesby texting them using simpleconversational language. The servicewill work only with LG appliances andthe company is going to involve majorhome appliances such as refrigerator, ovens, washing machine, dryers, roboticvacuum cleaners, etc. in coming year. You will be able to literally talk to conversewith appliances in human language. Users will be able to literally chat with theirfridge from grocery store to find out what is there left in the store, what is not and17

SMILYOwhat is going to end. A working lady will be able to order the robotic vacuumcleaner to ‘clean the carpets’, even while working at their office. While leavingfor vacation, if user texts appliances “I am leaving for vacation”, the refrigeratormight automatically go for power saving mode and vacuum cleaner might cleanthe whole house before thy return back home. The oven may even respond tojust to say that it will miss you. It will be fun just like texting to your friends.Flexible Display Phone:Many more gadgets and technological concepts have been launched recently andare really astonishing with their features.But I will still love to give a glimpse of“super cool” flexible display phones. LGlaunched its first Smartphone with flexibledisplay named as G-Flex which is curvedand it fits better in your palm and facewhen you are talking, they bring the miccloser so that the sound become more clear.The curved G-Flex can be brought back toflat shape for some time being. Earlier Samsung has also shown the modelsof flexible phone with Samsung Round. Smartphones which could be curvedaccording to our convenience will be out in the market in coming few years.Technological advancement or technological revolution whatever we may referit. But these are innovations in true sense and I am proud to be a part of thisworld of Brainiacs.-Richansha Riju18

SMILYOIndian premiere league started very ambitiously by the BCCI years backwith an intention of glorifying the cricket experience and making cricketa truly global sport (as a matter of fact it actually did) . The format wasbased on the NBA and was perfectly executed to become the highest grossingsport of the country. The format was greatly enjoyed by the Indians andall other nations, which were part of it. The T20 Format was not new tothe world but the IPL revolutionized the people’s perspective towards it.The First Commissioner of IPL, Mr. Lalit Modi was the one who executedand institutional-ized this format.He was the onewho carried ona successful firstseason and IPLbecame a glob- al phenomenon.But every-thing cannot goaccording to theplan. Mr. Modidid lot of embez-zling and misappropriationof thefunds generatedout of the game and was alsocharged of corrup-tion and incometax frauds etc. The one lessonlearned here wasthat there cannotbe an absolute control of such huge thing bestowed to a single person.Thus, there was a need to improve and it was seen in the next seasons.The format wasbased on the NBAand was perfectlyexecuted to becomethe highest grossingsport of the countryIPLIndian Paisa League?The IPL was on its peak when, at the end of 5th season,a scandalous affair of spot fixing by local playersplaying in have before us the spot fixing scandal,which rocked the newspaper headlines, in which famouscricket Sreesanth has been arrested. This trulyis a nightmare for every Indian cricket enthusiast andquestions the very integrity and honesty of this game.19

SMILYOAccording to newspapers, Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan,arrested and charged for accepting bribes were offered a sum of Rs. 40lakh to Rs. 60 lakh to give away pre-fixed number of runs in a given over.At least 11 bookies and middlemen have also been arrested in this case.The Delhi Police arrested Cricketers Ajit Chandila, Ankeet Chavan, S.Shreesanthon the charges of spot fixing by getting hold of the call details of theTrio with the bookies. This incidence has left the Indian audience heartbroken.The arrest of actor Vindu Dara Singh and brother in law of Chennai Super Kings Ownerand BCCI chairman N.Shriniwasan has already started to impregnate the idea of totallyfixed IPL in the mind of every Indian. And again it is imperative to ask one question –“Does the Sport makes money, or money makes the Sport?”-Himanshi Khatri20

SMILYOCOVERSTORYAnnualMODEThe annual system of education was prevalent in Delhi University as wellas all the reputed and recognized universities/institutions since long. Thetime when annual mode was followed, DU used to be one of the most funand happening place where scholars not only worked upon their academic frontand gave exams, but also fostered as a perfect “package” of an independent personas he was given immense time to explore himself, his gifts and his politicaltheories. Students had an immense time to participate in co-curricular activities,there was no burden of studies and the internal examinations were consideredwith extreme importance. The internal examinations were expected to keep afoundation for students and prepare them for the final university examinations.But, as it is said “Change is the only constant”. Semester system came and changed thewhole scenario of the conduct of examinations to entirely new and different levels.Under the Annual Examination system, there used to be the conduct of one finalexamination at the end of relevant Session in all categories, in which thepapers were usually set by the outsider teachers/professors and checked by externalexaminers through centralized marking, under the supervision of the controllerof examination of the University concern. But, in the Semester system,the examinations were conducted twice a year- both the internal and externalones. Before you look to feel yourself out from the gallops of the first externals,the date sheet of the next examinations is out. The internals which used tocreate a base for students were being converted to simple class tests/presentations/assignmentsand projects making the students to just copy-paste informationfrom net to obtain high scores, merely attend all the classes (though beingmentally absent) to secure marks for attendance or just cheating in class tests.Also, Semester system keeps students busy, schedule and more focused towardstheir objectives. Students of semester systems, who really want to ventureinto something else, do not get time. They cannot focus on anything elseapart from the curriculum but this is not the case with annual system ,as stu-21

SMILYOdents consider that they have enough time to attempt one final examination atthe end of year therefore they indulge in a lot other activities for many monthsin session and prepare themselves for examination in two or three months.“Change is the only constant”.As al- ways, everythinghas its pros and cons. Here is how and why the Annual mode of Educationwas effective for so long and what made the need to alter this arrangement.ADVANTAGESAnnual Mode has been the most prevalent mode of examination in Delhi University.Deduced from the pattern in schools, it was not challenged and changed for avery long time. Moreover, the effectiveness of it is definitely unquestionable as ithas been the most preferred form of examination. Here are some of the advantagesof “The Annual Mode – The foundation of Examination in Delhi University”: -1. The students of annual mode were given sufficient time to become familiarwith the subjects. Since students had reasonable time, they referred to the originalbooks and readings rather than just preparing Past Year Papers and notes.2. It was more of knowledge oriented rather than examination oriented.There was scope of further research in a particular subject and as such, everydiscipline was taught in great detail as compared to the semester mode.3. The concept of “Home Examination” was prevalent at that time.Like class 12th students have pre-boards, similarly college studentshad home examination. This additional degree of preparednessresulted in more seriousness and devotion among the pupils.4. From the teachers’ point of view, annual mode was more comfortable. UnlikeSemester mode, every teacher had a permanent job for the entire year. There wastime with teachers for conceptual clarity and not to rush with the syllabus. Theycould afford to stress on more important topics and devote certain lectures to it.5. The result of annual mode was practical. Students used to score 60% to 80%,which is satisfactory score. In semester system, students score more than 90%that are rather impractical in college.DISADVANTAGES22

SMILYOThither are many drawbacks of annual mode that forced the authorities to swapit with the semester mode. Annual mode is more elastic and gives more roomto students. But it certainly has many shortcomings, which are as follows: -1. To pursue a Master’s Degree, foreign universities demand 16 years of formaleducation. For a Delhi University Annual Mode graduate, it makes only 15years of formal education after graduation. The break up is 10 (secondary education),+2 (higher education) and +3 (graduation). Introduction of Four YearUndergraduate Program makes sure that like engineering and law graduates;the commerce graduates also get 16 years of formal education.2. The annual mode definitely provided more time to students. This extra-timecan be utilized for co-curricular but can also be wasted. The semester providesenough internal examinations and opportunities that there is no time to waste.3. By not having exams on a steady basis, studies used to survive offtrackfor the majority of students. As it is rightly said that real preparationstarts just before exams, the annual system lagged in this respect.4. The level of sincerity of students can be analyzed by their attendance.Unlike semester mode students, annual modestudents normally didn’t attend classes on regular basis.Under Annual examination system, teachers had no proper road map, planand strategy to teach their subject, the overall result of the examination concernednot up to expectations. The failure ratios were also high; students obtainedcomparatively low marks, having disciplinary problems. Since the establishmentof semester system of examination in educational institutions, it hasbeen exhibiting a great deal of difference in connection to examination methodologysuch as the conduct of examination, tenure of semester, paper setting,paper marking and teacher’s power and authority, student’s learning and theirposition and discipline. The semester system as managed and controlled internallyby particular University itself, therefore having many advantages relatesto teacher’s power and authority. By and large, a teacher has the advantage toplan and oversee the course outlines semester wise, has the power to preparethe paper, mark the paper, with regular interval with semesters, therefore theyhave the ability and authority to keep in line and keep discipline among pupils.Though the Annual system of education was the most consistent form of system fol-23

SMILYOlowed, the advancement and exposure to new concepts and schemes made the educationistsinvestigate possibilities of new and better system of teaching. The conversionof Annual system to the Semester one and now to FYUP may seem absurdinitially, but who knows years later we’ll be thanking the authorities for this Change.-Mohit Aggarwal, Divya Grover24

TheSMILYOemesterSystemDECODEDGetting admission into Delhi University is a dream for many high schoolstudents of our country. High school is a time when students are most concernedabout what is happening around in the premium varsities across thecountry. One news must have made students particularly anxious. That would beDelhi University switching to the semester system i.e. having two terms in a yearin which the students would require to sit for public examinations twice and thesame course would not be repeated. Subsequent protests erupting from students’and teachers’ associations was the reason of concern. The campus news was filledwith stakeholders demanding roll back, citing that the transition was hasty andcoercive. But a look around and it was not just DU. Nearly every university waschanging over to the semester system for general level courses as well. On hearingof conception of such a system, the first reaction of students ought to be relief,relief from studying thick refreshers at one go. Semester system would mean lesssyllabus to memorize at a go. Semester system would mean two chances to scorewell in a year. But at the same time, the protests were something that was perplexing.Why were the students objecting to such a system which would makegraduation less onerous? The answer to the question is not quite straightforward.While the semester system has some advantages, it has some drawbacks as well.Even though the semester system gives more chances to students to do welland some of them manage to do well also, but they find themselves in troubledwaters once it comes to application of concepts. Reason? The semestersystem, the race to get a job after graduation and a myriad of extra-curricularactivities that you must place your head into for an awesome CV. Though semestersystem, on the face of it, might seem to take the burden off the students’shoulders, it might get you in troubled waters if you don’t manage time well.Below are tabulated some advantages and disadvantages of the semester systemwith reference to the annual system.25

SMILYOAdvantages:• One of the main compensations of the semester system is that it reduces thestudents’ burden in terms of the volume of the course to be memories at one go. Forexample, if there are 10 subjects to study in a year, then the syllabus is equally distributedfor the semester. This might help students who do not have a huge retaining capacity.• It gives two chances. In the annual system, it is a do or die situation. Butin the semester system, if you don’t score well in the first semester of a year,there is always a second chance to ameliorateyour score on the subsequent semester.• It helps maintain regularity and helpsin focusing more on studies. With regularassessments and shorter deadlines, studentsacquire a prospect to assess their performancecontinuously.• It gives time to venture into activitieslike internships and hobby classes duringthe winter break. In the annual mode, the winter break is generally consumedin doing the piled up assignments whereas in semester mode, winter breakstarts just after exams and students are free to pursue internships and hobbies.Disadvantages:• The duration of teaching is drastically affected. A four month semesterafter incorporating all holidays, fests etc. effectively leaves just 90 days of teaching.For an average student it might prove to be a great distress to juggle betweenacademics, extracurricular activities,relationships, fun and what all things thatstudents involve themselves in these days.Also, it might be cumbersome for the teacherto complete the course in such a short span.• The time constraint has further ramifications.It might lead to gaining a very superficialknowledge of the subject as opposed to in depthknowledge that is gained in the annual system.Shorter deadlines may not have the desirable effectwhen it comes to grasping of a subject. Studentsmight just forget pertinent points and their applications after each semester.• In this age of rising unemployment and cut-throat competition, buildinga CV that stands out from the crowd is a must for each student. For26

SMILYOthose who do not know how to manage time well, semester system mightprove a real pain. The incessant flow of assignments and tests sometimesleave little room for extracurricular activities and relaxation. At the sametime some students might find the temptation of college fests and a myriadof fun and academic activities irresistible and lose out on attendance. Itis a bane especially in those varsities which award marks for attendance.• The teachers also get overburdened as they have to examine thousands of examcopies twice a year. It also poses a huge financial burden on the university. It might alsolead to seasonal unemployment for teachers who teach during one semester and arefreed from service for the subsequent semester. It might as well affect their abilities.The aforementioned points are very generic arguments about the merits and demeritsof the semester system. Whether it is a sincere effort to make the educationalprocess more fruitful or a capricious diktat to ape the west is a question that willbe only answered in the long term. For now the students should try to adapt themselvesto the existing system and try to get the best out of it as in an environment ofuncertain policy framework, the best bet for students is not to rely on the systembut polish their abilities and put them to the best use possible. Managing time wellis the key to succeed in such a system. If you do that well enough, then no matterwhat surprise is hurled at you in these tricky times, you will emerge a winner.-Pahur Jain27

SMILYOFYUP“Fuelling Youth” Undergraduate ProgramSitting in the college canteen these days, one can overhear a group of fuchas(the term used for freshers in DU) sitting seriously around a table andtranslating “Tum Hi Ho” to English or doing something equally frivolous!And against your better judgment, you end up asking them what it is all aboutand as bizarre as it may sound, chances are high that they announce they are doingone of their Applied Language Course (ALC) assignments. And that’s howwe people get curious about the ‘Four Year Undergraduate Program (FYUP)’.Let’s go back in time. Four years ago, i.e. 2010, DU used to be one of the mostenjoyable and happening place for young undergrads with bright shiny eyes andwith even brighter dreams and aspirations. Fast forward a year, the universitydecided to switch to the semester system. The courses were trimmed downand so was the time in the hands of the students. Before we could say “Yes,exams are over lets party!” we were boggled down with yet another semesterexams. Fast forward to two more years, as the things were settling down andstudents were getting in groove, the university came up with the mother of allthe changes the FYUP and the bright shiny eyes were replaced by baffled looks.FYUP is the biggest, most far reaching change of curriculum in the recent (i.e., last30-40 years) history of DU. The first time where the FYUP was placed before anystatutory body of the University was at the Academic Council meeting on Monday,24 December, 2012. This meeting – to discuss the biggest curricular reformin several decades – was an extraordinary meeting, called at 3 days notice, whichwas issued on Friday, 21 December, 2012 and delivered over the weekend. Thestructure of the FYUP presented to the Academic Council on 24 December was notsent to the Committees of Courses at the Faculties or Departments, or to the StaffCouncils of Colleges, giving Departments no time to consider the proposal andformulate an informed response. The Academic Council meeting of 24 Decemberapproved the FYUP specifically requesting that the University take more time tothink through this major change, and that a detailed White Paper on the FYUPbe prepared and made public to enable the University community to respond toit. This request, as we all know, was never considered as the university came out28

SMILYOwith a final draft of FYUP, with all the changes in the courses, within 4 months.Let’s look at the reasons why the university thinks that FYUP is advantageous.• The changes in Delhi University are widely seen as a testingground for a general shift to four-year degrees in India.• It is beneficial for those students who want to study in the States as they need 16years of formal education which the 10+2+4 system will provide. Thus, it will helpthe Indian students to meet the requirements of the international education system.• One additional year means that the main course will pan out slowly. This willgive students more time to evolve through their courses which will allow them to getfamiliar with what they actually study and how these studies can be related to their lives.• Students experiencing problems to complete their fourth year can completeit in the next eight years.• No student willbe held back in the semesterirrespective ofthe number of subjectshe or she passed in.Students with difficultiesor any other reasoncan drop their coursesat any time after twoyears of under graduation and they will still be rewarded with a Diploma.However, it seems that the disadvantages overweigh the advantages. Not onlythat, even the advantages have their own problems, like those students whoobtain a two-year Diploma will study only 8 papers from their main discipline.The remaining 20 courses will be compulsory, basic foundation courses.• All students, irrespective of the stream they come from, will have to studyfoundation courses over the first two years. Moreover, the foundation courses aretoo basic that the students lose interest very easily. This leads to low attendance inthe foundation course lectures followed by the absenteeism of the teacher as well.• Three years Bachelors Degree will have 14 main core courses and 28 non-corecourses, while students of other universities will get their bachelors with honours.• Four year Bachelors Degree with honors will have 20 core courses outof 50 courses, whereas earlier three year program had 75 per cent core course.• How can you expect people with the 2 year Diploma to get jobs when people withPhD’s are unemployed? This is bound to produce a pool of unemployed young people.• The BA/BSc Program accounted for 76% of all undergraduate enrollment;even if we ignore the non-formal formats, the program stream students accountfor 42% of all regular-format undergraduates. All these students will now beforced to apply to one or the other disciplines, thus significantly raising enroll-29

SMILYOment in the larger disciplines like Political Science, Physics, History or Hindi.• In addition to this there is a major shortage of infrastructure. No provisionhas been made for additional infrastructure or teaching posts for the extra year.The shift to the four-year undergraduate program, without ensuring these essentialrequirements, is an irresponsible move on the part of authorities. It is widelyconsidered as a copy of American Academics model. But the only similarity withthe American system is that students can opt for a four-year course if one wants to(i.e. if they do not exercise the exit option earlier). In reality, the American systemoffers a broader kind of choices to students, accumulating credits over a number ofyears and across the universities. None of these will be available to a DU student.-Neha Yadav30

SMILYOThe Engineering ExamFEVER!With the wave of engineering entrances lined up ahead, students oftenend up in a dilemma; Which exam to appear for? How to prepare?and all kinds of thoughtful doubts. Well, one is ought toface them once in a while, but with proper guidance, the journey can be assmooth as it can be. So, here are some common doubts that an engineering studentmay face. Let’s have a look at them and the possible way outs for them:Which exam to go for?Well, to be honest, it’s entirely up to you to choose an exam to apply for. There’s a myththat the best exam to write is the IIT (which has now been clubbed with AIEEE). Butthat’s just a myth. If you want a variety of courses to choose from and are not actuallycrazy about IITs, you have a creamy bunch of exams to apply for. For instance:BITSAMU engineeringDU (DTU)Indraprastha University (IPU)UPTUVIT and many moreHow to prepare?This actually is the most sought for question that students ask. As is said, thereisn’t a shortcut to success, but there is surely a long but neat way to accomplishit. With those ‘business based’ coaching classes attracting students to join them,a simple student like me stands confused.• According to the CBSE boards and the IITs, every entrance exam that isgoing to be conducted by the respective boards, will be completely based on31

SMILYONCERT course books. So, if a student possesses a proficient understanding of thebasic concepts that the NCERT books follow, he/she shouldn’t opt for coachingas an alternative. That opinion may seem weird and shocking, but that’s the truth.• Keep going through every single concept in the NCERT course books,study aid from refreshers, and grab some previous year sample papers.• The trend that is observed in allentrance exams is that the question,whatever their level may be, are mostly(around 90%) based on one or theother topic that the NCERT follows.• I concur that such institutions(coachings) are knowledge boostersand contribute a great deal in gettingone admitted in a renowned college/university.But at the same time,one shouldn’t just blindly go to anyinstitution that guarantees a selection.No one can predict if you’re going to get selected or not.• Go for the test series that coaching classes provide. You surelycan join a coaching, but be secured that the foundation bears a standardand will clear away even the most basic doubts that you confront.• When the entrances are around the clock, just revise your conceptsas soon as possible and start attempting mock tests. They speedup your thinking skills. A good exam doesn’t test the level of formulasyou know; it tests the concepts and your understanding of the concept.• Just relax and practice as many papers as you can. Hereare some good books which can strengthen your understanding:1. NCERT (that’s a must)2. S.L. Arora3. H.C. Verma4. ABC for Physics5. RD Sharma (both subjective and objective)6. Arihant (chiefly for IIT)7. AIEEE mock test seriesWhich institution to select?32

SMILYOIt often happens that a student ends up getting in the merit list of agood number of institutions. And so begins the counseling confusion.Where to go from there? Which institution to opt for? etc. etc…Well, if you’ve got a choice of institutions ahead of you, that’s brilliant!Sometimes, it does getconfusing when you’ve gotastream of options to choosefrom. But there’s nothing tobe in a dilemma for. Just gofor the institution that offersthe course of your choice. It’sthe course that matters, don’tgo in for an institution thatdoesn’t have your course butis well known. After joining,you’ll realize that all of them offer practically the same education, the differencebeing, one offers loads of luxury with simple education, while the otheroffers a subtle atmosphere with the same level of education. Opt for a governmentinstitution as far as possible, they’ve better placement opportunities.How to attempt while appearing for the exam?It’s easy! Don’t waste time thinking over the questions you are not familiar with.You can surely try answering them, but prefer to undertake them in the end,when you’ve already answered the known ones. The problem often faced is thata student wastes his precious time trying to answer a problem that he/she hasn’tever seen. In managing so, not only is the energy wasted, simply the opportunityto face the simpler problems ahead in the paper gets diminished as well. Andone more thing, try and use tricks to solve a problem. Like, if you are ending upwith a weird figure, try rounding it off to minimize the calculations-it works! So,just keep cool and cheerfully attempt the problems that seem easy to you first.What all to keep handy during the exam?That may seem a simple question, but that’s actually worth noting. With all thoseformulas stuffed up in your head, you may forget some of the most basic stuff.• Keep your writing stuff (pens/pencils/eraser/sharpeners/scale) handy withyou.• Remember to carry your hall ticket with some other identity proof.33

SMILYO• Keep a calculator handy, in case the center allows its use.• Avoid carrying mobile phones, examination centers don’t usually allowthem.So, I hope your entire dilemma about the entrance exams stands clarified. Experiencean awesome luck facing them. Ace them all!-Harsh S. Kulshrestha34

SMILYOCOURSEorCOLLEGEWhich way to proceed?One has to agree that he is indeed very lucky if he gets away with the courseof his choice in the college he had always dreamt of being in. Escaping theparanoia of choosing between the subject one loves, his holy scripture andthe institution which is no less than a shrine to him is no less than a gift sent by Godhimself. But getting an easy break in the end does not mean that he doesn’t sufferfrom the utter delusion at all. Believe me; I know the pressure one goes through.Right from the terrifying moment the board results are announced every day isspent feeling lost, dreading the monstrous percentages your dream-college is goingto demand, imagining grim scenarios in which you have to pick up between thecollege and the course, often doubting the course you “think” you want to. By theday the cut-off lists finally come out, one is practically cut-off from half his senses.We can categorize students into three categories: The Happy Go Lucky, TheCourse Setters, and The Combination Seekers.When faced with the difficult decision of choosing between the course and thecollege, one should decide in accordance with the category he/she can associatehimself/herself with.The Happy Go Lucky – Well, most people come under this category-notsure what they want to do, have other plans and career paths to be pursuedin the long term like civil, law or MBA. Well, it’s easy for you, be thecarefree bird and happily so. Pick up the best college and the best course offeredby them and you are good to go. Try and make the best of the perfect college-the academic environment, the extra-curricular activities, and the name!The Course Setters (no pun intended) - If you are definite aboutthe subject you want to study there is no thinking twice even if you don’t getthe so-called best college. Getting into “perfect” college and studying physicswhen your interest lies in economics may give you a high for a few weeks,35

SMILYObut when eventually you get over the “aura” and the name of the place and getdown to studying, life is going to get tough. Passion for the subject is whatmakes you work and when you won’t have the drive coming from the subject,you’ll have no inspiration to study.You will end up being a mediocre performerin a great college when you could have been a great student in a good college.There is no denying that having the perfect college name gives you a socialsatisfaction and often opens up doors to the big companies relatively easily.But, maybe 10years down yourprofessional lifewhen you wouldbe working as aconsulting physicistinstead ofbeing a financialadvisor for ThePlanning Commissionof India, as you always dreamt of, you may not be so happy about the“opening doors” any longer. The brand name of the college does help get higherpay offers in the beginning, but after 2-3 years, it is the quality and quantityof work done and the dedication shown that counts and affects the progress.Moreover, if you are excited by a subject, there are chances thatyou will pursue it for higher studies. Admissions to master’s coursesare based on entrance exams, college names have no role to play.The Combination Seekers – There is a segment of students who have aset combination of course and college in mind. These sets may be so diverse inthemselves, that I for one, find myself incapable of comprehending. An examplecould be having the following sets - English (Honors) from St. Stephen’s (only!)or B.Com. (Honors) from Shri Ram College of Commerce (only!) or B.A. Economics(Honors) from Hansraj College (only!). Statistics being one of my disciplines,I am forced out of habit to calculate probabilities of a student securingthese combinations. And I dare say, I am worried for them. Having very rigidpreferences more often than not leads to disappointment. But if someone wishesto keep his/her choices strict, he/she should make a sequence of the preference andnot get disheartened if he/she doesn’t get through. One important thing is to havea strong back-up plan; totally independent of the rat race for colleges and courses.Not getting admission in a college is not the end of the world. Whethera student should give preference to the course over college or collegeover the course is an individual decision. Going by the situation onefinds himself in, he should make the most rational decision and act on it.36

SMILYO-Garima ParasharTanishka Goyal:What the students had to say!This question has been a turning point in my life.Physics is the subject I used to dislike and mathematics – my favorite. Fate had differentplans for me. I couldn’t get maths hons. in the bestcolleges of DU but was getting a chance to study in KMC(basically the north campus) in the physics hns courseonly. There were two roads ahead of me. First, leading tothe love of my life mathematics and second, to my dreamcollege where I would have a life I want. I am already pasthalf of the grad and I haven’t regretted my decision till now.Obviously the course is something that’s going to matternot only in present but also in the future. But is it all thatmatters? NO! Water is not all for survival, adaptation playsa crucial role. If the student is not happy with its surrounding,the choices may go useless or come to an abrupt end! ‘Pranjali Nagpal:Tanishka GoyalKirori Mal CollegePranjali NagpalG.G.S. I.P UNIVERSITY‘In my opinion Course should be given the preferenceas a particular course opted decides thefurther options for a student in her/his career,opting for a particular college just because ithas a brand value attached with it or it’s popularamong the students shalln’t be a good decisionon the part of a student. So, I think a personshould opt for the course of his choice overthe college and pursue his career in it and resteverything should be given 2nd preference.’37

SMILYOTanvi Sabarwal:‘In my opinion it is the course which matters not thename of the college, as it is rightly said “what lies in thecover of book”? Hence students must not go with thenames of big broad colleges but with the course whichcan lead them to the zenith of success.In hindi I just want to conclude that:“KAAM AISA KARO KI NAM HO”YA FIR NAM AISA KARO KI KAM KUD HOJAYE “.In every college you’ve got the same opportunity but thething is you must be a go getter.Just look for a good course not for a college because the“D DeLHI UNIVERSITY” says it all.’Devina Misra:Tanvi SabarwalSBSC, DUDevina MisraGargi College‘The course definitely should be the priority in selectingwhere to pursue higher studies. If one goes for the better collegethan the preferred course, it may make your college lifemore exciting but whatever course you have will decide thefuture. Of course, I do not mean to lessen the importance of agood college which may mean more opportunities. However,lets say there is an amazing workshop about a particular subject,how will it help that person who has no interest in thesubject and only took it because it was the only one that personwas getting in that college? You can definitely learn tolove something but it’s not the same as having passion for it.’Labhya Sharma:‘According to me the course must be given more preferenceby the students because if you have interest in some particularcourse for ex: computer engineering then you can easilycreate opportunities for yourself and at this time institutionsdoesn’t matter for you and if you take admission in some goodinstitute and choose any other course then there will be lesschances for you to take the advantages of opportunities, final-38Labhya SharmaZHCET, AMU

SMILYOly this will be the worst condition. so, follow things in which you are interested.Abu Talha Danish:‘For sure, course should be given preference overcollege. It is something that is crucial for your entirelife. May be the college you are getting hasgood placement opportunities or other facilities,but if the course is not of your interest, you cannotenjoy your studies. You may get much betterplacement offers from a college of lesser reputationbut ‘in your area of interest’, because you will havemuch more chances to excel in the subjects whichyou like. For me, if I were getting Electronics orAbu Talha DanishZHCET, AMUElectrical engineering even in IIT’s, I would simply reject it without hesitation,because I wanted Computer Engineering, no matter in which college!!. So, neverchoose a college if you are getting a course in which you are not interested.s’39

SMILYOThe ever Raging war betweenPrivate UniversitiesVsGovernment Universities!Since the time you step in 12th standard, the trouble to take your “biggest”decision of life starts swaying over your neck. The trouble to decidewhich path you desire to follow. The trouble to score enough to securea spot in a good reputed college. An indeed troubling, troubling trouble. Facingthe class 12 board examinations is in itself a big challenge. The pressurea student falls under is excruciating. But no, it does NOT end there. There ismuch more. The online and offline submission of forms of oh-so-many privateand government universities start soon after the board exams get over. Somecolleges have entrance exams while others take in admissions on the basis ofthe board examination result. Whatever it may be, you have to take the bullby the horns. As the admission fever soon begins, it is imperative to find oneselfstuck in the largest battle of choosing the right institution- with the warbetween private universities and government foundations always going on.In India, we have very few private institutions. Surprising,isn’t it? Well, every private college needs to besanctioned by a government body (UGC aka UniversityGrants Commission) and most of them are affiliatedto a government university. According to UGC, AICTEet al, there are 659 universities in India as of 2012. Outof 659 universities, 152 are central universities, 316are state universities and 191 are private universities.A strong tendency is seen among urban families to preferprivate schools for secondary education but governmentcolleges for higher education. Why? Fundamentally,schools are responsible for building a child’s foundation.The upbringing of a child has much to do with his/40

SMILYOher school. It is not that college has no role to play in establishing a student’spremise, merely that the intensity of contributionis less. The private schools areowned by renowned trusts. For instance,Delhi Public School Society owns thenetwork of Delhi Public Schools, ChildEducation Society controls Bal BharatiPublic Schools. These privately ownedinstitutions are capable to provide an arrayof facilities to the students by meansof charging high fees- which the larger parts of urban population can afford(the reason for concentration in towns and cities). More facilities and competencyin private schools are enough to make urban parents shell out moneyfrom their pockets. According to estimates, 80 percent of all schools inIndia are government schools making government the front-runner in education.But merely 27 percent of Indian children are privately educated. Phew!Private universities are not operated by government. These universities mayreceive tax breaks, public loans and grants. These institutions offer multidisciplinarycourses, but in cases when excellent colleges offering singlestream specialization degrees are in existence, some of the courses of privateuniversities have been on a back seat. For instance-the Mumbai FilmAcademy is one of the best institute providing film study course in Mumbai.Private universities in Delhi are much like the school we saw in Student ofthe Year. Not only the institution, but the crowd is also standardized. Thesecolleges (like Amity, IILM et al) provide sprawling and spacious campus,but charge monstrously high fees and thus attracts students mainly from urbanareas. Most of these are situated on the outskirts of a metropolitan city.The primary cause for people preferring governmentcolleges is that they offer quality education and thattoo in nominal fees. For engineering, Delhi has atop - class state owned colleges like Delhi TechnicalUniversity, Indian Institute of Technology andNetaji Subhash Institute of Technology. Science collegeslike St. Stephens College and Lady Shri RamCollege have set a benchmark for quality education.Colleges like Shri Ram College of Commerce, Shaheed Sukhdev College ofBusiness Studies, Hansraj College, Sri Venkateswara College have pioneeredin the field of commerce. For fashion designing, National Institute of Fashion41

SMILYOTechnology leads the spectrum. There is no private institution up to competewith these aces. Even if there are some, they are rated below the above ones.Birla Institute of Technology and Science and Pearl Academy of Fashion are afew of the private acclaimed institutes. Indian School Business is another pioneerin the area of Management, which vies with the government aided IIMs.Government universities provide more exposure in comparison to privateuniversities. Also, government universities are the front-runners in terms ofrankings and placements as the seat to application ratio in government universitiescalls for stringent selection procedure. This procedure makes surethat only the topcream of the students reaches the government colleges.The illustrious alumni of the government colleges help the cause of governmentuniversities further. People fromall spheres like cinema (Shah RukhKhan, Amitabh Bachchan), politics(Arun Jaitley, Salman Khurshid, MontekSingh Ahluwalia), activists (ArunaRoy, Kiran Bedi), media (ArnabGoswami, Prabhu Chawla) andsports (Arun Lal) can be traced backto the University of Delhi, a governmentuniversity. Unquestionably, it says a lot about the education, the opportunitiesand the vast array of people that one gets in a government university.The crux of the argument is that both the government and private institutionscomplement each other though there are significant differences between the twoof them. Both private and government sector co-exist in a society. Both havetheir merits as well as shortcomings. While private universities are characterizedby quick decision making and converting an opening into opportunity, governmentuniversities often find themselves in red-tapism and legal procedures. Theneeds of the society constantly change and education forms the backbone ofit. The education sector should also incorporate the alterations in the society.Well, there is a demand for specialized courses in our country and if the governmentdoesn’t capture it, the private sector must go for it. Moreover, the populationof India is 1.1 billion. Government institutions cannot cover the entirepopulation, so there is a need for individual establishments as well. The educationsector can reach success only if both the institutions work simultaneously.-Mohit Aggarwal42

Shashank Garg:SMILYOWhat the students had to say….‘There are many reasons for giving priority to private institutions for primaryand government for higher studies. Actually, it’s allthe consequence of our Indian educational system.1.In primary education, a child’s basic foundation is laiddown which has to be done in a proper organised way.In India, Government primary schools lack such properorganised education. Moreover it does not have that childfriendly environment which a growing up children need.2. Government primary school still lacks of resourcesneeded for their proper functioning.3. For higher studies, government funds too much for itsinstitutions. So there is lot of availability of resources ingovernment institutions for higher education.4. Higher education needs a standard which a government institute can onlyprovide. Some of the private institutions do have maintained their standard butthey are very less in number. In professional world, our college’s name is alsoseen along with our degree.5. In primary studies, teachers have to pay attention on each and every aspectof child’s education. That can be achieved in private schools only. Governmentschool is full of absent teachers. Lack of infrastructure is also one of the importantissues with government schools.’43

SMILYOMANAGEMENTQUOTAManagement quota: (noun)An ancient technique through which students are extorted of all their money inexchange for a certificate that isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on.Since the time 12th boards end, the greatest threat of securing “goodmarks”, “good college”, preferring a “valuable course” starts tohover over students. Not just students, securing a safe place inprime colleges becomes a matter of life and death for parents as well.India has a few numbers of good institutions, but unfortunately the numberis not so great. The number of reputed institutions is limited and sodoes the number of seats. Adding to that, the biggest and the controversialquota system is another impediment for the ‘General classes’.The colleges have come up with a proposal for general class students where theycan buy seats in well-known colleges by paying huge sums of money. This propositionis a boon for some and bane for others. Students who are not capable to securegood grades in schools get admission into well-off colleges through the managementquota and a common general middle class student keeps fighting for hissurvival against the brutal battles of SC/ST quotas, OBC quotas, Outsider, etc. etc.Though we completely agree that Undergraduate Admission is an importantturning point in a young person’s life. Every parent has a dream that their childrenachieve better education and have successful careers by becoming Engineers,Doctors and Management gurus. Parents definitely feel proud, if theirson/daughter is working in a multinational or a reputed hospital getting heftypayoffs. The countdown of seeing their wards achieve their bright future beginsbefore birth. They are so much apprehensive and strained that they spendmadly on their child’s education without realizing if it’s worth paying for.Parents willingly and lovingly spend any sum of money to get their children ad-44

SMILYOmitted in one of the best foundations for elementary training. They do anythingto make their child receive the best education, best facilities, crowd, faculty, reputationand what not. The idea of merit and academic qualification has taken aback seat and all one needs to do is, pour a large amount of money in the greedybellies of institutional authorities disguised as development funds, infrastructuralfunds etc. etc. and secure a seat. But getting admission in a respectable andreputed college is not simply an affair of money only until and unless, the biasedand corrupt system of, management quota strives its way in the colleges too.Today, admission into colleges for general students is possible in 2 ways- eitheralong the basis of merit or buying seats through management quota.You all must be very well aware of the admission procedure based on the meritsystem. The other system of getting admission into colleges is “Managementquota”.“Management quota, donation seats, paid seats, direct admissions”- Manynames, but sole purpose-ADMISSION. It fulfills your dream of slipping into aninstitution of your choice, but with a cost.Management quota can be simplified as a backdoorentry into colleges. For many students gettingadmission to any top colleges is almost impossiblebecause of the increased intensity of highcompetition levels and soaring cut off. For themmanagement quota is an option to get admissionin the best and renowned colleges by just payingfees which are higher than the general quota seats.At Delhi University, where admissions are purely basedon merit of a child, management quota is either not inuse or maybe it is backdoor. In such case, if the management quota is still breathingsomewhere in the peripheries of admission procedures, it is sheer injustice to thestudents deserving seats on the merit basis. In Delhi University, 22.5% seats are reservedfor SC/ST quota, 27% of seats are reserved for other backward classes, 5%seats are reserved for CW category and 3% of the seats are reserved for PWD Candidates.This implies that management quota has a role to play in DU admissions.In 2008, a man named Himanshu Gupta, a Third Officer in the Merchant Navy washeld back in admission racket where he called for the huge total of 4-5 lakhs fromparents of pupils to stimulate them into some prominent colleges under the figure45

SMILYOof “management quota”. The accused was using fake SC/ST certificates as he wasaware that almost 30 to 40 per cent seats go vacant under this particular quota. Heexploited the reserved category quota in DU under the name of management quota.The management quota seats in engineering, medical, MBA Colleges are consideredas a gift for candidates who are talented but fail to perform well in thefinal and entrance exams. Management quota is where 10% of seats is set asidefor these gullible students and the admissions are based just on the extra moneydonated to colleges and not on the CET, AIEEE or other rankings. All thecolleges providing such seats areselffinanced. Institutions/collegescharge more fees for managementquota students and it may vary fromone college to another, dependingupon the rankings, resources and facilitiesthey provide. Such extra fundcan be used by the foundations to get improvements in the campus, investingin college infrastructures and other helpful activities. Although there area hundred of AICTE approved engineering colleges all across Bangalore. Butalso there are a few prestige and reputed colleges having great campus andrecruitment facilities. These colleges come under top 5 or top 10 ranking.Many colleges offer these seats and many parents avail the benefits by payingheavy sums of money. But, in living up to the dreams of their kids to take admissionin top colleges, parents neglect the fact that how this unfair system shattersthe diligence and hopes of innocent children who believe in the concept of hardwork.There are some children who deserve those seats but couldn’t afford thehigh donation fees. The anguish those parents feel who do not have enough moneyto get their children admitted to reputed colleges is incomparable. This lopsidedsystem where money operates everything, forces us to ponder about the two categories,one- who burn the midnight oil to materialize their dreams of studying in topinstitutions and second- who use materialistic methods to contrive their lavish dreams.-Divya Grover46

SMILYOINTERVIEW(Lt. Gen. T.S. Gill)47

SMILYOINTERVIEW(Dr P.C Jain, Principal, SRCC)Q. Is the Indian education systemsupporting/producing entrepreneurs?In my opinion, the Indianeducation system is not supporting/producing entrepreneurs because thepresent system is focusing more andmore on hard skills and that too tomemorize things while being a student.Application part is missing andthat is reflected in the lack of understanding by studentsof the subjects.To an entrepreneur, the traits require a differentform of managing and that is not a formingpart of neither the curriculum nor of the projects.Q.Should there be reservation for local residents inDU?No, since DU is a central university and theobjective of creating such an institution is to providea place where all kinds of people can assembleand get a feeling of the nation and national issues.Since, it is a central university and is financed by thecentral government, the whole outlook designed in itsact speaks of taking care of the diversity of the nation.Q.Has ‘education’ emerged as the new commercial propositionfor businessmen?All governments have limited resourcesfinanced by as well as designed to capturethe imagination of its people in the country.Therefore, in a democratic country like India, cit-48

SMILYOizens should be given a choice to start or to initiateor to outer in education sector also. However,regulatory agencies must ensure that such institutionsserve the purpose which they have been createdfor i.e. imparting and generating knowledge.Q.Is DU producing ready professionals for the industry?If yes, why the campus placements are not utterlysuccessful?No. The entire education imparted incolleges is taxed based and is remote learning.The understanding and application of such knowledgeis far away than putting into action.Faculty as well as students have never seen and experiencedthe working of the industry during their educationin colleges.Therefore, they are deprived of real life working ofthe business. Hence, there is a gap in what is taughtin class and what is practiced in industry and thereforemost of the students who do not take internshipsseriously while being at college are not fit for employmentimmediately after leaving college.49

SMILYOSHAHEED BHAGAT SINGH COLLEGEReport of National Cadet Corps2013-14brotherhood in its own, the NCC family of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Collegehas left its mark in an endless list of events all over the country.A complete company of 160 cadets that comes under 4 Delhi Battalion‘NCC’ of Army Wing, have always kept up the moral and dignity of our college.The Shaheed Bhagat Singh College has long been acclaimed asone of the finest colleges in Delhi University circuit, and our cadetshave maintained its position of high regard everywhere.Every one of us has a soldier somewhere deep inside us. NCC ensures that youfind it, train it and live it.SUO Arjun Kapoor of session 2011-12 is now a Lieutenant in the 69Armed Regiment of Indian Army posted in Amritsar, and left the collegesetting up a new aim for the following generation of NCC. Followingthe senior’s footsteps, the college NCC cadets come forward and activelyparticipated in various camps and competition’s all across the country.SUO Hitesh K. Rathore, SGT Anurag Mishra, CPL Ratnesh Chaturvedi, CPLKapil, CDT Tarun Basera and CDT Chintu were a part of the Delhi Directoratein All India Tracking expedition held in Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh). SUOHitesh K. Rathore was the commander of NCC contingents at Chief MinisterRally (15th August). SGT – Nitin, CPL-Vijay Kumar, CPL-Kapil, Cadet-RahulDaholiya, CDT Gagan and CDT Gurmeet Singh were also a part of thisevent. SUO Hitesh K. Rathore was the camp Senior of combined AnnualTraining Camp 2013 and was also awarded the Best cadets of CATC-2013.JUO Kalpajeet Neog was the company senior of Alpha Company inCATC-2013. CHM Saurabh Singh represented our college and Delhi Directoratein Basic Mountaineering Course from Atal Bihari Institute ofMountaineering, Manali. JUO Deepak Chauhan (2IC) and CHM Saurabh Singhwere also a part in NIC, Siliguri.50

SMILYOJUO Deepak Kumar Singh and JUO Dheeraj Kumar also represented our collegein National Integration Camp, Nagpur.SUO Hitesh Kumar Rathore and JUO Kalpjeet Neog participated in SpecialNational Integration Camp, Barauni.SGT Deepak Kumar and LCPL Praveen Kadian have represented our collegein National Shooting Championship 2013 and Pre Mavalankar ShootingCamp, North Zone Shooting Championship (50 mts) in Ropar.SGT Deepak Kumar was the A COY Senior in CATC-II-2013. CHM SaurabhSingh was the A COY Senior in CATC-2014.CPL Ratnesh Chaturvedi, LCPL Amandeep Singh, LCPL Praveen Kadian andCDT Himanshu Dhankar represented our college and Delhi Directorate at AllIndia Thal Sainik Camp-2013. Thal Sainik Camp included intense training exercisefor stamina and brain, map reading, shooting, opsticals, first aid, disastermanagement, tent pitching courses.Our cadets also enlighten the name of our college by selecting as by Best Cadet.CPL Ratnesh Chaturvedi was nominated in map reading, LCPL AmandeepSingh was nominated in Opstical race and CDT Himanshu Dhankar was nominatedin judging distance to represent the Delhi Directorate at National Level.SBSC NCC is known all across the Delhi Directorate for its active participation in theRepublic Day Camp. SGT Nitin Kumar, CDT Gurmeet Singh and CDT Shwetankrepresented our college and Delhi Directorate in Republic Day Camp-2014.CDT Gurmeet Singh was the part of the Delhi Directorate Cultural team inRDC-2014.4 NCC Cadets from SBSC were a part of Gyanodaya Express, on educationaltrips.Birthday of Shaheed Bhagat Singh is a moment when we all brag with a puffed upchest about being a part of ‘NCC’ hence it is celebrated with high zeal and enthusiasm.A drill squad of 60 Cadets and 3 commanders showed the drill skills andmarched in to pay homage to the hero. Their exuberant and energetic drill andcommand added the glory of the occasion.Shaheed Bhagat Singh College NCC came together with the large number of51

SMILYOthe Guard of Honor and drill cadets as well as volunteers at Antardhwani 2014,the annual cultural fest of Delhi University.All the cart of the session the SBSC NCC organized CHUNAUTI-2014. TheAnnual NCC Fest of Shaheed Bhagat Singh College.Col. R. K. Singh Commanding Officer of 4DBN NCC. The chief guest Chunauti-2014was commenced on 8th March 2014 with the festivities continuingthe whole day filled the air with the heart thrilling feelings of pride and honour.The true Army honor in every activity added a cherry to cake Col. D. S. YadavCommanding Officer of 2 artillery battalions and Lt. Col. S. S. Yadavformer Commanding officer of “4DBN” and LT. Arjun Kapoor 69Armed regiment former SUO of our college was the Guest of honor.Chunauti 2014 saw the campus turning into veritable kaleidoscope of peoplecoming from different colleges but only one thing in common- ‘The zealto serve the nation as the youth and to maintain the dignity of this uniform’.The chief guest himself praised the zeal hard work and dedication of our cadetsafter watching the section attack, guard of honor and the cultural performance.At the end of Chunauti finally Rank ceremony started, when present seniorsgave their responsibilities to lead it. Ratnesh chaturvedi was recommended asthe New SUO of SBSC.52

SMILYOEducation inODD SectorsThe road not taken!that doesn’t need any introduction atall. With changing times, people’s perception towards this tender‘EDUCATION’-somethingissue changed! And what’s wrong in that? Nothing at all! Educationneeds updating, and so does the dogmas that most people hold towards it!An astounding phenomenon is the way in which edification is taking place.There are ample institutions that ‘tend to’ cultivate being with the so-called‘range’ of courses provided by them, but on having a closer insight into thematter, we face a lack of diversity in courses. Practically, most of them servenothing more than differently decorated versions of the same stale meal.But fortunately, there are ‘a few’ that believe in change. A change which is inherent,which doesn’t come from know-hows, rather it comes from the urgeto learn something new. As a result, some really appealing and out of theleague educational courses have come into scene. These emerging fields notonly provide opportunities that have some real exploration, but also provethat with keen interest, anything can be worth learning as a profession too.People have often confused education with knowledge that has continuedfor ages and needs to be imparted to the Gen-next. But that’s just lore!Knowledge is something that is grasped willingly, not imparted forcefully!So, if you’re still confused about where the enlightening diamondmay be in your case, don’t worry! We are here to carve that out for you.Let’s take a look at some captivating sectors ineducation which need to be showered with the talent that is still raw and needssome polishing.53

SMILYO1. Film Training:What it isWith Bollywood becoming the 100+ cr industry,the contributors to this industry have taken a professionalway out. To maintain the level, newbiesin the film industry need proper guidance. The professionalcourse in film training does the same. Thecourse prepares an individual and polish his skills toget ready to mark his presence in the film industry.Who should go for it?Enthusiasts looking forward to make a future in the Indian Film industryshould opt for it. Whether one wants to be an actor, a director, or a producerthis course is best suited. There’s a myth that film training mainly targets‘wanna be’ actors. BUT THAT’S A MYTH! Film training covers every aspectrelated to the film industry, from the technical team to actors and directors.What does it involve?The course basically involves a professional waythrough editing, cinematography, direction, audiography,acting, art direction, graphic designing,animation, scriptwriting and much more.Where to apply?Interested candidates may apply for the concerned course at the Film and TelevisionInstitute of India,Pune. It’s perhaps the top institute in India. Other institutes that offer similarcourses are:Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute, KolkataWhistling Woods International, MumbaiCentre for Research in Art of film and Television, DelhiAsian Academy of Film and Television, Noida2. Calligraphy and Fine Arts:What it is?Ever wondered where the beautiful fonts and graphics laid up in your PC camefrom? Fine Arts! Yes, they are actually the end result of this out-of-the leagueart which has now taken a professional turn in our country as well. This courseprepares a student to pen out his creativity in the form of symbols, drawings,54

SMILYOpaintings etc.Who should go for it?People who have a high potential when itcomes to art, should definitely go for it. Beit good handwriting, sculpture making, calligraphy,or attractive drawing, the candidateshould give a thought to this course.What does it involve?Calligraphy training and fine arts involve promoting Scientific Techniques ofhandwriting, calligraphy, drawing, personality development classes, self-improvementtechniques, signature reading, handwriting analysis etc. Besidesthese, there are a number of conventional put-ups like paint making, cartooningand photography.Where to Apply?There are numerous institutes that offer calligraphy and fine arts related courses,including short term courses as well. Some notable ones are:• Government College of Arts, Chandigarh• Government College of Fine Arts, Chennai • College of Fine Arts,Thiruvananthapuram • Institure of Calligraphy Training, Banglore.•Raja Ravi Varma College of Fine Arts,Allappuzha•Government College of Arts & Crafts,Kolkata•Government College of Arts & Crafts,Chennai•Goa College of Arts, Panaji•Delhi College of Arts3. Creative Arts:What is it?Interested in courses you can relate your lifeto? You’ve got just the right course there! CreativeArts focuses on courses that can be identifiedwith the day to day life. From fashiondesigning to brand management, this course is55

SMILYOthe right choice to go for!Who should go for it?This course is chiefly meant for students who have a desire to learn something‘out of the league’. Stuffed with practicality and professionalism,this course is meant for those who aregood at transforming creativity to work.It mainly focuses on fashion and brand relatedwork.What does it involve?This field is actually a combination of a lotof appealing courses. These include a Bachelor’sDegree in Fashion Designing, Brandingand Advertisement Management, TextileDesign, Fashion, Media Communication,Diploma in Interior Design, Diploma in Women’s Wear, Post Graduate Diplomain Luxury Brands, Post Graduate Diploma in Merchandising etc.Where to Apply?Candidates have ample number of choices to choose from. The chief ones being:Pearl Academy, New DelhiNoida International University, NCRNational Institute of Design, Ahmedabad4. Songwriting:What is it?Are you the one who just not listen to thesong, but hear it- the lyrics, the rhythm,the music, the flow, the movement? Doyou ever feel the desire to express youremotions in words? If yes, this is allyou need. A degree in Songwriting isnot prevalent in India at all. The courseis tool-based, designed to delve intothe craftsmanship of songwriting, toshow you practical strategies and techniques,to reveal the options and opportunities you might not have discovered.56

SMILYOWho should go for it?This course is specifically forthe students who love to write,to express their emotions andto give words to their feelings.If you haven’t written any ormany songs, this course willshow you an efficient, effectiveprocess for creating songsto express your ideas andemotions. If you have, you’lllook at your process differently,taking control of aspects of the process you may have not noticed.What does it involve?The course will teach you to use tools to enhance your message—to work compositionallyat the same time developing your ideas. Those tools include the numberof lines, line lengths, rhyme schemes, and rhyme types, prosody, rhythm, phrasing,and many more. There are general crash courses, diploma courses, onlinecertified courses and online graduate courses (from International Universities).Where to Apply?In India, there is only one school to offer this course - School of Symphony,New Delhi But, thanks to websites like www.coursera.in, one can pursue thecourse of his/her choice online from the most reputed universities and thattoo for free. Berklee College of Music is one of the top-class Music Schoolthat offers a 6 week online certified course for free. The Scholarship holdersare awarded with a certain discount by the University for selected courses.-Harsh S. Kulshrestha57

SMILYOEXCEPTIONALMINDS!When the intellect begins to run, it is unaware ofyour age count.What were you doing when you were a three year old kid? Probably, playingwith a car or a doll or maybe learning to walk on your own (Wow!! Mybaby is a genius. He is walking now.). The same tale of every household.Young kids, spared from all the ‘heavy thinking’. Why should we care about howa computer was made? Who cared about how exactly did those cartoons in theT.V. moved? Why would anyone pay heed to his father’s profit or loss in business?We are happy if we can play outside and have the pleasure of eating chocolates.It’ll be a little shocking, but there are some Exceptional brains in our country whohave not only surprised their parents but all of us with their bizarre achievements.•At the age of three when we probably didn’t yet know how to spell the easiest ofwords, Aman Rehman at the same age created his first animation. Nine years later,at the age of twelve, the same kid went on to become theworld’s youngest animation lecturer to receive HonoraryDoctorate from Open International University Colombo,Sri Lanka. Aman completed his B.Sc. in animation whenhe was just eleven years old and went on to give lectures toB.Sc. students who probably were almost double his age.•Akrit Jaswal, considered as the smartest person of his age in India came topublic attention when he did his first medical procedureat the tender age of seven. Yes, you read it right. Later,at the age of twelve, this little medical genius becamethe youngest person to be admitted to a medical university(Punjab University). At the same time he claimedto be on the brink of discovering a remedy for cancer.58

SMILYO•Next up is our very own ‘Google Boy’ Kautilya Pandit.Ask him any thing in this world and just in a fewseconds you will have your answer. Let it be populationof India, languages spoken in different countries,rivers, mountains, anything and everything, he knowsabout it all by heart and he learnt all this by rote. Wait,did I happen to mention he is only five? Ladies andgentlemen, a child of 5 who knows pretty much everything about the world.• A thirteen year old girl Neha Ramu who has a higherIQ than the geniuses themselves, Abert Einstein and StephenKing (hard to believe there is somebody smarter thanthem, isn’t it?). She scored 162 in a MENSA IQ test forpeople under 18, the highest possible mark- putting her inthe top one person of the UK’s brightest people.Einstein! Phew! Who would have thought?•Well, the next wonder child solved some puzzles whichmocked some very great mathematicians and scientists forthree hundred and fifty years. Shouryya Ray, a sixteen yearold, just another school going kid cracked Sir Isaac Newton’s350 years old math puzzles, making the ‘smartest ofall time’ to wonder about this achievement.•A girl named Sushma Verma, started pursuing herMasters in Microbiology. She is listed in the LIMCA book ofrecords for being the youngest high school graduate. Whenshe graduated, she was only seven. And to add a little more,she has an elder brother who graduated when he was only 9.Well, so much for being a big happy genius family.•Two brothers, Shravan and Sanjay Kumar, 12 and10 years old respectively, became the youngest mobileapp developers in India. They have recently launcheda mobile application named ‘Go Dimensions’. Alreadythousands of downloads have been done for this application.59

SMILYO• Priyanshi Sonami, an 11 year old human calculator.She started a mental calculation at the age of6 (the time when we were playing ‘ghar-ghar’). Atage 11, she was the youngest participant of the MentalCalculation Cup 2010 which she won. She is the onlyparticipant who has done 100% accuracy in addition,subtraction, multiplication, square root till date in all 5Mental Calculation World cups. She has been featured in the Guinness Book ofWorld Records as well.There’s nothing like a child prodigy to make you feel like your life is over evenif you are only 20 or so.In the words of Roger Babson, “Let him who would enjoy a good future wastenone of his present”. It’s not that we have wasted all our life, but how theseyoungsters found out what they love to do (or could do) and exercised it. It’snot that we cannot but, we Do Not even try.No doubt there are some highly gifted minds, but it doesn’t take an IQ of 160to make a person great, does it? Perhaps there is a silver lining here, which wemight not be able to see. Perhaps, we can use these kids as an inspiration tofind what makes us Click.Go out and explore your talents. Don’t be afraid to try because you never knowyou might just stumble upon the genius in you. Let’s find our own ‘ExceptionalMind’ and show the world they missed out on another prodigy and that prodigymy friend, can be YOU.– Gillprit60

ForecastashionSMILYOWinter has been abrupt this season, it came in waves, and had been refusingto go, but now it finally whispered au-revoir. The city is burstingwith color, and we are all packing our sweaters in naphthalene, thesun is here telling you to bask in the goodness. Here’s to the transition from heavyovercoats, jackets and ankle length boots to more breezy and breathable clothing.Smilyo brings to you the fashion must haves and faux passes for spring 2013.What we think will make you look like the divas you already are. And at thesame time, not sweat like a pig.WHAT-The ColourEach summer we promote one colour that seems to be popping everywhere.This time it is ‘Tangerine’.WHY-Although sounds exoticand citrusy, this isthe Sadhu-baba colourthat our Indian asceticshave donned for ages.Go wild with it, but injust the right amounts.What we mean is nowearing baggy flingytangerine tops. Youwant complimentsand not to look likesomeone you wouldgive ‘bhiksha’ to.61

SMILYOWear tangerine as a scarf around your neck, perhaps a bright belt to accessorizeyour plain white shorts, or go tote-ing. Get yourself a bright big tangerine totebag to fill in all the summer prerequisites-the big bottles of water, and the tissues.WHAT-ROYALTYRoyalty is so in, and keeps coming back. Haters call it- bling. We call it class.WHY-Celebrities like Nargis Fakhri, Anoushka Sharma have been sightedflaunting those crystal encrusted box clutches, and sequinned peep toes.While the right amount can make you look fabulous, the excess of it can makeyou look like Bappi Lahiri. So go minimal. A little gold metal watch, a stringof pearls with your favorite LBD, tlittle ballerina flats in royal blue. Thesemight just do the trick.And yes don’t forgetthe exotic bun with afew loose strands tosuit your royal look.We love that bun ofthe VJ in ‘QUEEN’.WHAT-TEALENGTH SKIRTSFinally fashion industryis being good to peoplewith not so “hot”- legs.WHY-We have modifiedthe trend of reallyitsy bitsy cute miniskirts that suit only the people who eat like, perhaps once in amonth. Now, we have tea shorts that go below your knees, and end a little aboveyour ankles. Hide all those days off –“haven’t waxed yet”, and “I look fat”.Pair them with crop tops, and sleeveless tops in block colours to accentuateyour height. Combine these skirts with the other trend this summer- of tribalprints and there you go, the fashionista.62

SMILYOWHAT-GET SPORTYWHY- There’s nothing that attracts guys more than a girl comfortable in her skin,and a little tomboyish. Don’t shy away from wearing your sneakers with a girly flowerprinted dress. Or a tennis skirt with a shirt to work. A sports cap is both effective andpractical. And if you are lucky enough to have a boyfriend who is in sports, “borrow”his sports jersey and team it with your pretty shorts. You will spin a lot of heads.WHAT-PLEATY-AS-YOU-SPEAKWHY-No, pleats are not grandma style or Old-School, they are very muchin. Trending and wear it the right way- you might get away as the princess ofthe ball. But remember to not go overboard, and be all about the pleats. Keepit a little simple and accessorize it with a plain top and a little black pleated,razor-sharp pleated pants. You will find a bunch of DIYs on PINTEREST.WHAT-50-shades of….WHY-GREY, yes…. Finally! Grey is back in fashion. Grey is no longerconsidered a dull colour. And, definitely no longer the colour for trousersor office wear. They can be put up in shoes, capris or even in Kohl.Grey eyeliner and kohl are the quintessential eye wear. Grey is an extremelyversatile colour and can be worn with almost everything. From brightto dull colours, a silvery metallic thin little bracelet can do much wonders.WHAT-FlaredTrousersWHY-First itwas skin tightnow it’s allabout- let the aircome in. Palazzos,straightfit- you shouldhave at least onein your wardrobe.If you are63

SMILYOjust experimenting, go for Basic Black. Vero Moda has a beautiful line of highwaisted flares to give you a boost.WHAT-flats and flip flopsWHY- Because it’s summer alreadyand there are millions of things we needto worry about. We shouldn’t be worryingabout walking carefully. Go forcolorful flip flops in all colors, especiallyneon ones. Rush to Sarojini for thecheapest and yummiest flipflops andoshos.Having said it all, fashion is all about looking good, you might wear a ChanelLBD and still not steal the show. And wearing a superman tee might get you adate!Wear what you are comfortable in, wear a nice smile. And you will have peoplewondering!-Sanchari Das64

SMILYOIsIndina Cinemabeyond the 100cr Club?The Indian Cinema with all its thumkas and jhumkas, laung da lashkarasand gulabi ankeein, the angry young man and hot punjabi mundas; thedistinctly romantic, at times even raunchy, yet unfortunately still unmarriedbua ji’s; the larger than life shaadis and perfectly synchronized danceroutines; the devilish sasumas; the Mogambos and dons; the iconic mustardfields and the sweeter than sugar heroines in a riot of colors brimming with life.So do I mean to say that the entire Indian cinema is about sensational, dramaticpieces with exaggerated characters and exciting events intended to appeal to theemotions? Well, that is exactly what I do NOT mean to say. The brief descriptiongiven above is in fact NOT of the Indian cinema, rather of one part (thougha rather big one) of theIndian film industry,that is, Bollywood, the Hindi Cinemawhich is often con-fused with the wholeof Indian cinema.The cinema of In-dia consists of filmsproduced across In-dia, which includesthe cinematic culturesof Andhra Pradesh,Assam, Bihar, Guja-rat, Haryana, Jammuand Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka,Kerala, Maharashtra, Manipur, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, UttarPradesh and West Bengal; and not just Mumbai (Bombay) based Bollywood.Bollywood today fully believes and runs quite in line with one of its own famousdialogues-“Filmein sirf teen cheezon ki wajah se chalti hain... Entertainment,Entertainment, Entertainment... Aur main entertainment hoon”.The Indian cinema is much wider and open-minded. Quite sadly, Bollywoodhas slowly drifted from being an art industry to become a commercialized industrywith the coveted “100 Crore Club”. The term is an unofficial designation,supposedly formed by the trade and the media, related to films that have65

SMILYOnet Rs. 100 crore or more in India after deducting the Entertainment tax. Asof 2012, the 100 crore box office target had become “a new benchmark for afilm to be declared a hit” and those affiliated with the 100 Crore Club wereconsidered part of the “elite strata” within the Bollywood film community.But good theatrics and cinema were neverand is not supposed to be about how manybox-office runs a movie has or how housefullsit gets or about the 1500 bucks a platinumseat in a director’s cut gets to the movie.It is about ordinary lives, ordinary people, ordinarysituations, ordinary traumas, ordinaryhappiness, ordinary emotions which are sosimple but yet so complex and ordinary responses.And their portrayal is so strong andclear that words aren’t required. In its trueform it is an act so pure and beautiful thatseeing it on a plain white sheet with the helpof a simple projector would give the viewersthe same sense of exhilaration as it would ina high-end air-conditioned movie hall with gazillions worth of equipments.Seeing Bollywood, the largest film producer in India and one of the largestcenters of film production in the world, getting deviated this way is a nightmarefor enthusiasts. But there is hope.Recently India got selected as the guest country for 10th Zurich Film Festival(ZFF) to be held from 25th September-5th October, 2014. Zurich Film Festival(ZFF) is an annual film festival that has taken place in Zurich since 2005.The festival focuses on the presentation and promotion of new director talentfrom around the world. It is also renowned for its top-class side-events program.In the words of the fest’s co-directors NadjaSchildknecht and Karl Spoerri, “New Indiancinema has experienced an upsurge in recentyears. New projects have been realizedover the past few years that undermine commonstereotypes. The movement from mainstreamto independent cinema is unmistakable.This development is incredibly exciting.”66

SMILYOThe web page of ZFF reads- “It is, however, not the formally corseted mass cinematradition known in the west as Bollywood that is of interest, but the latest developmentsin the type of auteur film that first came to the world’s attention in the mid-50s”Indian festival entries are usually and rightfully praised for their thematic freshnessand high cinematic quality. The best examples of theseattributes include Vasan Balas’ promising debut PEDDLERS,a captivating relationship drama in the form of a thriller;the romantic comedy THE LUNCHBOX by newcomerRitesh Batra, and the family/gangster saga GANGS OFWASSEYPUR, Anurag Kashyap’s INDIAN GODFATHER.These statements, coming directly from connoisseurs of theatre, aremore than sufficient to prove that Indian cinema is an industry thrivingon ideas, imagination, creativity and love of art, and not merely a moneyguzzling “industry”. One of its biggest parts has fallen prey, but the peoplein it are realizing their follies and striving to amend them. So whilehoping for the whole of Indian cinema to soon return to its formal glory inone of the “bollywoodish” ways I quote, “Picture abhi baaki hai mere dost!”-Garima Parashar67

SMILYOToReador toWatchThe “reel”ty of Novels getting rolledThe wind blew harshly causing shivers up her spine. The moon sank behindthe clouds thrusting the night into inky blackness. Far away a wolf howledin eerie agony. The heavy footfalls behind her told her that the pursuit wasstill on. Her breaths came in foggy mists as she ran testing the limits of her body. Shebacked into a corner and fear gripped her like a vise as she realized she’d run intoa dead end. Her pursuers were upon her within moments, closing in all around her.Impressive, eh? But that’s just how words are. They spin a web of intricate detailand emotion, and transport you to realms that defy all boundaries of imagination.The joy of curling up with a book, sipping a hot cup of coffee and watchingthe rain patter outside is unparalleled. To lose oneself in someone else’shead, to feel what they feel and to accompany them on their journey is a luxury.And then there are those, the busy bees of our society who iterate one constantphrase, “I don’t have time to read the book, I’ll just watch the movie.”Sure the movie can give you a landscape, put a face on the character,but it can never make you feel what the character is feeling. Andsomewhere between turning a book into a movie, the sanctity and aestheticsof the story are lost. It is deformed to get it more commercialized.Let’s take a look at some of the most popular books turned movies/seriesand try to figure out how much justice they’ve done with the books:68

SMILYOThe saga of a lifetime. The legend of a generation.Harry Potter needs no introduction. Werethe books awesome? Duh! Were the moviesas good? Absolutely not! While the movieshad brilliant actors and tried to run exactlyparallel to the books they couldn’t helpdisappointing the entire fandom becausesomething was still missing. The movies just couldn’t get the feels right.The Twilight SagaThis is one series where the movies were so terrible,they made the whole world hate twilight.Reason? Well, the books transcend beautifulemotions, but they looked horrible portrayed bymediocre actors. Where the books delved intothe fragility of forbidden love and mortality, themovie screamed “Oh look, vampires are hot!”Lord of the RingsThe books were insanely large and detailed, to saythe least. The movies were just as long and just asgood. No arguments there. The setting was perfect,it clung to the story and where sometimes the booklost steam, the movie compensated. No wonder thethird movie is up there with the highest Oscar winsalong with Titanic and Ben-hur. Incidentally, it isalso the only movie to win all of the Oscars it wasnominated for. Does it get any better? Apparently, yes, just watch the movies!Game of ThronesThe craze of the moment. The epic series that has struck the world by stormis matched if not outdone by HBO’s series. Thelandscape is outstanding. Each story is shot in adifferent country that fits the backdrop. The actorsare sensational, breathing life into charactersin the most realistic way possible. And mostimportantly, it does give justice to the book. Ofcourse the readers will argue, and rightly so, thatsome of the subplots have been overlooked. The69

SMILYOonly edge a reader will experience over the viewer is beforehand knowledgeof the halfbaked schemes and plots going on, that are vividly mentioned in thebook. And that is a big advantage isn’t it?The Hunger GamesThe movies followed the books religiously,tweaking the storyline ever so slightly(which can pass unnoticed) but the moviesdidn’t exactly throw the same feel. Thebooks render the reader in awe of the emotionalgrilling of the characters, but themovie didn’t quite capture that, no matterhow hard it tried to stick with the story.P.S. I love youThe book was cute, yes, but the movie did thebook one better. The chemistry between thelead characters was grand and Holly’s grief wasso palpable that it moved the audience to tearsat times. Most readers felt outraged becausethe movie messed up the characters and completelywent off the storyline. In that case, themovie was bad, granted, but if you consider itto be a standalone version, it outdid the book.The Mortal InstrumentsTwo words- let down. The movie was a completewaste. It didn’t get the characters right,it didn’t even try to make a point to depictthe beautifully described vibrant scenery.Boohoo. The actors were mediocre and therewas no chemistry. Period. The battle betweenShadow hunters and Demons could’vebeen made into a larger than life dramaticclash. But it’s a shame it failed to ignite.Movies that were based on Dan Brown’s novels are tolerable, but they fail toweave the magic of how the story unfolds in the books. That is something thatcannot be matched.Now that we’ve been through some cases, let’s get down to the question of thehour. Some movies aren’t as great as the books, some are decent, some are actuallybetter (very seldom). It depends on whether you’ve read the books first70

SMILYOor watched the movie first. Simply what the movie doesn’t beat and can neverbeat is the ability to get lost in the book, to become the hero and the villainat the same time, to love, breathe, feel and live as the characters. Thereis no perfect formula to translate the characters from the pages to the cover.The feeling of inclusion that a book provides will always be missing in movies.As an avid bibliophile, my verdict is in favor of books. And I takeit as my duty to encourage you to experience books at their best,as themselves, as scripts before you think of going to the movies.-Shreya Kathuria71

SMILYOVegitIsLegit!For years, vegetarians have been trying to prove why going veg is the bestway to go. When they said “We’re saving animal lives”, non vegetarianssaid “You kill plants”. Somehow, non vegetarians have always twistedwords to justify themselves. Their most favorite argument being, “Vegetarianseat plants which produce oxygen; we eat animals that consume oxygen!So, we’re actually saving the world from Global Warming!” Oh the audacity!But do read on, for then you will surely know who was worth their mettle.Dr. Jasraj Singh conducted experiments in Gwalior Jail to determine the interrelation,if any, between our diet and personality traits. During the course of onesuch experiment, the prisoners were kept on a strictly vegetarian diet. Over sixmonths, they developed a tendency to refrain from fierce conflicts. When theywere reverted toa non-vegetarian diet,there was againa behavioral change,this time for theworse. This is endorsedby Georges Ohsawa, who, in hisbook Zen Mac- robiotics, prescribesvegetarianismfor purely physiologicalreasons. Hesays: “People who eathaemoglobin foods may becomemurderers, li- ars, and cowards as aresult and may not realize that their unhappiness is caused by wrong eating. This isbecause they are depending for sustenance on animals. Animal meat has the idealcomposition of an animal; animal glands produce hormones fit for creatures thatact instinctively and are unaccustomed to thinking.” Ohsawa goes to the extentof upholding that if Mahatma Gandhi had not avoided all animal products in hisyouth, he would have become a harsh radical instead of an advocate of nonviolence.Next time you dig into a meat dish, stop and introspect, what if someone you loved72

SMILYOwould be sent to the gallows to fulfill the avarice of another person. One of myfriends, an ardent chicken-lover, gave up eatingit after she saw the process of its butchering.Much has already been said and written by variousanimal rights groups and individuals againstcruelty to animals. But for those of you who feelthat there is no question of ethics in choice offood and that animals were created by nature toserve our appetite, there are dozens of other pragmaticreasons which would make you think twice before consuming animal products.1.Being vegetarian is good for the planet: For those of you who live underthe illusion that hens, pigs, sheep etc. have none other purpose than tobe eaten, then you are highly mistaken. These animals are specially rearedon livestock farms to meet consumer demand and livestock farming has afar greater carbon footprint than emissions from vehicles. The carbon footprintof an activity refers to the amount of CO2 that is released in its duecourse. Being a vegan, i.e. forgoing consumption of animal by productssuch as dairy and wool, you help in limiting CO2 emissions even further.2.Create better compost and manure: Reducing packaging waste is great, butwhat about all the leftover food scraps after cooking? Choosing a plant-basedmeal, particularly vegan choices, ensures that all of thesescraps will be effortlessly converted into manure. All organicmaterial is decomposable, including meat, eggs anddairy. But mixing meat scraps and bones, eggs and dairyproducts onto your domestic compost pile could createa foul smell and attract pests. On the other hand, veganingredients have no ill effects when mixed with householdcompost, guaranteeing that your plant-based meal will be truly zero-waste.3.Be healthier, richer and slimmer: Abundant scientific research advocates that aplant based diet is better for health as well as the environment and no wonder: anestimated 70 percent of all diseases, including one-third of all cancers, are related todiet. A vegetarian diet reduces the risk for chronic diseases such as high blood pressure,coronary artery disease, high cholesterol, obesity, diabetes and certain typesof cancer, including colon, breast, prostate, stomach, lung and esophageal cancer.4.Keep your weight under control: A diet high in saturated fats and processed foodsand low in plant-based foods and complex carbohydrates is making us fat and killingus slowly. Eating plant based diet helps in gratifying appetite without gaining73

SMILYOunnecessary fats. Roughage obtained from eating raw fruits and vegetables helpin smooth metabolic processing and thus weight control. Eating a lot of vegetablesand fruits means consuming more fiber, which pushes waste out of the body easily.Meat does not contain fiber. People who eat at secondary levels on the food chaintend to have fewer instances of constipation, hemorrhoids (piles) and diverticulitis.5.Energize yourself: In the words of Michael F. Roizen, “Good nutrition generatesmore usable energy”. Too much fat in your bloodstream means that arterieswon’t open properly and that your muscles won’t get enough oxygenand you will feel lethargic. Balanced vegetarian diets are unsurprisingly freeof cholesterol-laden, arteryclogging animal products that slow us down physicallyand mentally. Whole grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables are so highin complex carbohydrates; they supply the body abundantly of energizing fuel.6.Ward off disease: A vegetarian diet is more salubrious than a non-vegetariandiet, particularly in preventing, treating or reversing heart ailment and reducingthe risk of cancer. A low-fat vegetarian diet is the single most effective way tostop the advance of coronary artery disease or avert it completely. The mortalityrate for cardiovascular disease is lower in vegetarians than in non-vegetarians,says Joel Fuhrman. A vegetariandiet is inherently wholesomebecause vegetarians consumeless animal fat and cholesterol,whereas vegans consume noanimal fat or cholesterol, andinstead consume more fiberand more antioxidant-rich produce.You will not catch animal borne diseases like bird flu.7.Build strong bones: Non vegetarian food is rich in acid ash proteins. Eatingtoo much acid ash protein also results in excretion of too much calciumand ammonia in the urine. It also causes several kidney diseases and dysfunctionsrelated to kidneys. On the other hand there are ample options in vegetarianfood to meet your protein requirement from foods such as milk, soya,lentils, green peas, nuts etc. Calcium to maintain bone balance can also be obtainedfrom non-dairy sources for those who prefer to be vegan over vegetarian.A healthful dose of calcium can be obtained from dry beans, tofu, soymilkand dark green vegetables such as broccoli, kale, collards and turnip greens.8.Avoid toxic chemicals: Fish contain carcinogens (PCBs, DDT) and heavy metals(mercury, arsenic, lead, cadmium) that enter water bodies through industrial74

SMILYOeffluents and can’t be removed through cooking or freezing. Meat and dairy productscan also be laced with steroids and hormones. For instance, to increase theirweight as much as possible, chickens arefed a mixture of cheap fat-producing carbohydrates,antibiotics, sulfa drugs, hormonesand nitro furans. Egg-laying hensare made to consume arsenic compounds(carcinogenic to humans) to make theiregg-yolks more yellow. Pigs which fallsick in their unhygienic surroundings areconstantly fed tetracycline antibiotics.9.Better metabolic process: Quite plainly, our digestive system is unfit for anomnivorous diet. We have canines for chewing plant food. There are no clawsto tear flesh. The tongue is soft and the saliva, blood and stomach are alkalineto digest starches and carbohydrates, unlike carnivores that have acidicsaliva to act on meat. Human intestines are convoluted—a feature diametricallyopposed to carnivore intestines, which are smooth to allow easy passageto digest flesh. Smaller human livers are also unable to metabolize the largeamounts of uric acid produced during meat digestion and, as a result, the uricacid ends up getting deposited in the joints leading to the onset of arthritis. Sonow for those of you who don’t buy the cruelty and karma debate about givingup on non vegetarian food, I hope that these alarming facts and scientific studiesabout its ill effects will force you to think twice before consuming a life.-Pahur Jain75

SMILYOSleepingGIANTIf you give Indians a football and a baseball bat and leave them ina football stadium, what will they do? Play cricket!! That prettymuch sums up the grim state of football and other games in India.As another edition of FIFA World Cup is picking up pace, Indian football fansindulge in a familiar ritual of proxy worship (I myself pledge my allegianceto Germany). The Indian national football team is currently ranked at a dismal164th in the world, tied with Liechtenstein (population 36,000). This makesno sense whatsoever. India, a country with 1.27 billion people and with a redhot economy is unable to band together a football team of 11 players worthcompeting at top level! Is it because in India everyone wants to be in the limelight.So every kidwho starts playing footballwants to be astriker and only the lazyones choose therole of a defender or agoal-keeper? Or is it to be blamed on ourgenes as it seemsanyone who guards aposition here has atendency to doze off, beit watchmen, po-licemen or politicians.So why would goal keepers be anydifferent, right?Historically speak-ing, India has not alwaysbeen so pathetic atthe sport. As a matter offact, we were once a wonderful footballing nation. At the peak of our game weclimbed up to 49th in the world ranking and even qualified for the 1950 WorldCup! Oddly though, we never met in the tournament reasons of which will definitelylead to a disappointed shake of the head accompanied by a heavy sigh. Apparently,the team back then didn’t really understand what the World Cup was, sothey decided not to attend. Indian Football Team captain at that time, late SailenManna, had this to say, “We had no idea about the World Cup then. Had webeen better informed, we would have taken the initiative ourselves. For us, theOlympics was everything. There was nothing bigger.” The official reason given76

SMILYOby the All India Football Federation was that there was an insufficient practicetime and disagreements over team selection. It is also believed that the team refusedto play with boots. Yes, you read thatjust right. They played barefoot and refusedto play with boots as they were not used toit. They even competed in the 1952 Olympicsbarefoot. However, Indian skill wasundeniable as they finished fourth in the1958 Melbourne Summer Olympics (thefirst Asian country to do so) won the 1962Asian Games and had their finest momentas they were placed second in the 1964 AFCAsian Cup. But it makes me wonder had theteam competed in the 1950 World Cup, it isundeniable that the present scenario wouldhave been different, who knows we could have been playing alongside Brazil,Spain and Germany in the World Cup this year and I would have been sitting onthe couch and chanting Sunil Chetri’s name! *Sigh* what a wishful thinking!However, since 1964 Asian Cup Indian football has never been able to regainthe class and quality that it experienced during its golden era. The next timewe competed in Asian Games was in 1980 and that was because we were thehost country. Though it showed signs of comeback in early 1980s it turned outto be a false dawn and the footballing community in India went back into thedark ages. However, football was not the only sport that lost its glory and fame.Around mid 80’s our hockey team, arguably one of the greatest team ever tohave played the wonderful game also lost its steam. So the question is whatin God’s name happened? The solution is simple and chances are you wouldhave estimated it by now… CRICKET happened!1980’s witnessed the rise of cricketand destruction of both football and hockey.This can be attributed to achievementsof cavaliering Tiger Pataudhi. A few yearslater the imagination of a generation wascaptured by a little man by the name ofSunil Gavaskar. Beating the former colonialmasters at their own game was the cry of the day, and in 1983 they did soat the birthplace of cricket; in the heartland of Britain by winning the WorldCup (Mind you, cricket world cup!).And so, football fell prey to mass hysteria. Hysteria transformed into a passion(and later religion) as the birth of one Sachin Tendulkar started a new epoch of77

SMILYOthe dominance of cricket in the Indian sporting world.Even then, we can’t lay all the blame of the lamentable demise of football oncricket. Like everything else football in India is run by politicians. Moreover,we have local football clubs in eight states, but there is a lack of professionalismand acute shortage of money and infrastructure which is not allowing thegame flourish. Because of corruption, caste system, reservation, poverty – thegood ones hardly make it to the top. Sponsors are indifferent because the qualityof the game is appalling. So the fans are left with no other choice but todesert the local clubs and root for their international heroes.There have been occasional bursts of hope followed by darkness again. It istrue that there isn’t enough infrastructure for the sport in India for it to flourish.However, talent is abundant. FIFA has opened up four youth academies. Inaccession to this, Arsenal Football Club is planning to open 45 football trainingschools in the next 5-6 years. Moreover, India will be hosting the U-17World Cup and as a result will automatically qualify as per tournament rules.Although the glamour is not the same as it is at the senior grade, yet playing aWorld Cup at any stratum is a matter of pride, and India will be gearing up todo justice to the occasion. All this will definitely draw youth, which forms onethirdof our total population, towards football and will wake up the sleepinggiant from its long slumber. So, it won’t be wrong to say that we still have ashot at the silver lining. Embrace yourself summer is coming!-Neha Yadav78

SMILYOINTERVIEW(Sumrit Shahi,Novelist and Script Writer)Q1) You wrote your first novel atthe age of seventeen. What madeyou start writing?My girlfriend dumped me. Myfriends left me. My parentsthought I was into drugs. So Ithought, ‘hey, why not writea book and feel good about myself?’…I’m kidding, only if lifewere to be so dramatic.On a serious note, even as a kid, I loved reading.And writing just seemed to be an extension of it.Though I never maintained a diary, or actively tookpart in contributing to the school newsletter, ifcaught bunking, I could come up with a believablestory in no time and the English examinations havealways been a cakewalk.So like many of our generation, I had a talent, whichI wasn’t particularly vested in polishing. But then,realization struck and the rest as they say, is history.After grade 10th, I went to a hostel, for abit. There was so much free time, over there! So Ibegan to write. And before I knew, I had a story inhand. I left hostel midway, that year. Came back toChandigarh with a story that I knew could be madeinto a book.And so ‘Just Friends’ happened.79

SMILYOQ2) What all challenges did you face while writing‘Just friends’? How did you deal with them?Not many people (especially your friends) wouldtake you seriously, when you tell them, you’re tryingto write a novel at 17. Then again, since it’syour debut novel, and you’re pretty much cluelessso as to how you will get it published, or rather,will it even get published? You’re tensed most of thetime. Then there’s also the social pressure of beinga teenager and having a life that involves wastingyour time in the simple term ‘chilling’. Also,let’s not forget that grade 12th board examinationsis some serious business.And even though your parentsare the supportive kind, they do occasionally wonder,why is your room’s light switched on, every night?I had my share of challenges to deal with. And honestly,I could rise above them because I had an unflinchingfaith in what I was doing because I wasdoing it from the heart.And I firmly believe, there was a divine connectionwith God that helped me sail through.Q3) Are the characters of your novels purely fictionalor do they bear any resemblance with the peopleyou’ve known or know in your life?At the risk of being tried for invasion of‘Right to Privacy’, I, hereby confess, A LOT of charactersin ‘Just Friends’ or ‘A Lot like Love, a li’llike chocolate’ have their mortal counterparts. Andtrust me, most of the people aren’t complaining.Q4) After your novel’s success, how has life changed?Primarily, I think I’ve found a direction inlife.Before writing the novels, I was, pretty much,just another teenager drifting, wanting to do somethingbut cluessless about what that something was.Once ‘Just Friends’ came out, I found ambition.And that’s saying a lot. Today, thanks to the two80

SMILYObooks, I’ve started to write for the Indian TV industry,at the age of 20. Life’s changed completely.There’s definitely more pressure now. But there’s alsothe pleasure of doing something I completely enjoy.And that’s exactly what we, teenagers are looking for.Ambition with pleasure.I think life’s on a good track right now.Q5) You’ve also written the story of popular T.V.Show ‘Ek veer ki ardaas…veera’ and scripted for‘Sadda Haq’. How is it different from novel writing?At many levels, both formats, novels and scriptingfor television, are as different as chalk andcheese. Novel writing has a certain amount of creativefreedom, because you’re telling the story toan audience who will voluntarily pick up your book,whereas with television, you need to exercise restrainas you’re feeding a story to those, who involuntarilyjust switch on the tv and randomly watchyour show.While writing a book is creatively more inducing,watching the visual representation of your story onTV, gives you another high.Despite these differences, in the end, it all boilsdown to writing a good story with emotion, drama andhonesty, whatever the medium may be.Q6) How do you balance your work as well as studies?Any tips for budding writers out there?It’s crazy. It sounds all fancy to be 20,a bestselling author of two books and the youngestscriptwriter in the Indian TV industry, but managingcollege alongside can really take a toll on you. Andsince a basic foundation in education is a must, it’snot even like you can just quit college. You have tostay up at nights, you have to cancel parties, you haveto hate your life… but in the end, when the biggerrewards flow in, it’s all worth it.I don’t want to sermonize anyone, but it is very81

SMILYOimportant to prioritize in life. Also, please writefrom the heart, it’s very important to not thinkof commercial gains and ignore your conviction.A good story connects. Period.Q7) Now-a-days there are freelance writers at everynook and corner. What should one keep in mind beforepursuing writing as a career?I think a lot of people, today, have startedto write, because it’s become something ‘cool.’ Trustme, every profession comes with its fair share ofstruggles.If one really want’s to pursue a career in writing,one needs to visit the Himalayas, get some patiencein their bloodstream, be ready to accept rejectionand never lose faith in their own conviction.Most importantly, a backup plan, always helps.Q8) To the world ‘Sumrit Shahi’ is a novelist,scriptwriter and a freelance journalist. Who is ‘SumritShahi’ according to you?An energized and greedy Easter bunny who wantsto jump in every hole around.Q9) Are you reading any book currently? If yes, whichone?I so want to read a book! But right now, I’mjust focused on finishing my next book, the sequel to‘Just Friends’. It should be out by the end of summer,2014.Q10) Who is your all-time favourite author and why?I don’t really idolize an author. I likeRowling’s ability to make the unreal appear tooreal. I like John Green’s ability to infuse humorin grim situations. I love the late KhuswantSingh’s humor. I’ve had my Blyton phase also.82

SMILYOSo yea… I’m a pretty accommodating reader.Q11) Where do you see yourself 10 years down thelane?The next aim is to write a movie, for sure.I just want to be happy. And give back to my familyand the friends that have stood by me, in some way.And yes, obviously I want to be goddamn rich!Q12) Your motto in life?Do your best, God will do the rest.-Gillprit83

SMILYOSpecialThanks toGratitude is a trait of the humble heart, and we have a great deal to be thankfulfor. So here’s a heartfelt vote of thanks to all those who have helped usdeveloping and flourishing.We would like to warmly thank our readers for being our constant companionon this extraordinary journey. Your readership, views and support are all wneedin future to improve ourselves. You have been part of our 55k+ family and forthat we are eternally grateful.We also want to express our gratitude to our sponsors who have made it allpossible for us. They are the ones who not merely permitted us to follow ourdreams but to help build the dreams of innumerable others.We cannot forget to thank our donors without whom we could not have accomplishedthis success. Your support is immeasurable and so does our thanks toyou. Your donations, be it in the form of books, notes, clothes or money, aidedus in accomplishing our mission.And last but not the least, we would like to thank our complete team. Smilyo isall because of you and with the sheer hardwork and dedication of you altogether.We hope to get your support the same way throughout our journey.84

SMILYOYou can help make a difference:DONATE!Smilyo is an NGO with a unique purpose of providing education to a widerange of society abiding by our motto of ‘paperless education’. But likeevery NGO we need your help to function better.Here’s why you should help:Social good – Promoting literacy in every section of the society and providingeveryone a chance at better education is our objective.Comprehensive study material – The free notes, e-books, assignments andnotices about various events keep people updated and save them from shellingout a lot of money on costly and expensive study materials.Expanding creative boundaries – Through our mélange of articles, poemsand stories we’re exerting change and helping people break the status quo.We have many miles ahead of us – You can help us expand our horizons.Some of our future plans include provisioning of a live career help section,launching various SES projects aimed at promoting computer education, adultliteracy, vocational training etc for several ignored sections of the society andpromoting social awareness on several issues.How you can help:Donate your notes, books and assignments.Money is always welcome in any form.Spread the word about our cause.‘Like every little drop makes an ocean, every donation counts!’To donate, contact:Pankaj Jain: 9818609955Disha Yadav: 783830000385

SMILYOTESTIMONIALSNikita Sharma:It has been only a few months since I have joined Smilyo,but in these few months I have learnt a lot aboutmyself. My strengths and weaknesses. It has helpedme evolve as a person. Smilyo gives you opportunitieswhich others fail to provide. It makes you moreresponsible and aware about your surroundings. I havelearnt to work with a team and to appreciate the effortsof other team members. It is a great experienceworking with Smilyo and I am proud to be a part of it.Kritika Goel:“Education is the key to unlock the golden door to freedomand SMILYO tries to make that key accessible to all.”Smilyo is an integral part of my life. I actually breatheSmilyo. It has taught a very confused person like me, howto manage the work!I love the working environment here. It has always beenactive, cheerful, happy, cooperative and friendly. Peoplehere are super cool! I actually found my true beingafter working in this organisation. Though many times Iplanned to leave Smilyo because of the burden of studiesbut Smilyo and the basic objective behind it never let meleave it.It actually makes me learn the true skill of leading a teamand made me a responsible person.This is the organisation to which I can relate myself to.Got so many new friends out here.In a nutshell, I LOVE YOU SMILYO!! You are the best organisation I haveever worked with.”86

SMILYOSunaina Bangia:My journey with Smilyo has been amazing. I started withan insightful orientation held at the Hauz Khas where I gotin touch with new recruits and the senior members. I wasamazed to witness the unity in the team. I thoroughly enjoyedmyself. Currently I am working with social mediadepartment and we are aiming to publish informative andsubstantial posts. I am really happy with my journey so far.It feels great working for a social organisation as it givesone a sense of worth.Vibhanshu:‘Helping someone with a smile makes us happy’.It’s been just 2 months working in Smilyo, and I reallyfeel so proud. The atmosphere and managementhere are very much appreciable. I am really verymuch guided by my team mates. Especially, my senior,Tarun Bhaiya helped me a lot. As per me, allthe members of Smilyo are very much dedicated,hardworking and intelligent. Thank you Smilyo!Benzul Sharda:I am Benzul Sharda, head college ambassador at Satyawaticollege (morning). Whilst in my final yearof university, I came to know about Smilyo fromDivya Grover, a friend of mine. The 1st thing thatcaught my eye was the wide range of roles that itoffers to its volunteers. And the best part was that itwas not out to make money from volunteer placements,but is genuinely an organisation that valuesits volunteers research and works. I personallybelieve that it is not really charity on what Iam doing, it is instead just giving back to the society that helped me to have adecent life from terrible one. I am grateful to the opportunity to work for Smilyoand the experience it has given to me. I will definitely recommend Smilyoto anyone interested in gaining experience with a team.87

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